- Charles E. Grant
-
Charles Grant 
Chuck Grant before E Co. sailed to EnglandNickname Chuck Born 1922 Died 1984 (aged 61–62)
San Francisco, CaliforniaAllegiance 
United StatesService/branch United States Army Years of service 1942-1945 Rank 
Staff SergeantUnit E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division Battles/wars - Battle of Normandy
- Operation Market Garden
- Battle of the Bulge
Other work Fabricator Staff Sergeant Charles E. Grant (1922[1] - 1984[2]) was a non-commissioned officer with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army during World War II. Grant was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Nolan Hemmings.[1]
Contents
Youth
Grant was born in 1922.[1] He completed four years in high school and graduated.[1] After graduation, he had an occupation in fabrication of metal products.[1] Chuck enlisted with the paratroopers on August 18, 1942 in his hometown.[1]
Military service
Grant trained at Camp Toccoa under Herbert Sobel. Like many of the men from Easy Company, he made his first combat jump on D-Day as part of the Allied invasion of France. On September 19, 1944, in Holland, he was wounded while helping to destroy an 88mm gun.
In Austria, Grant was named 2nd platoon Staff Sergeant. In July 1945, while driving a jeep with two members of 2nd platoon, Grant came across several dead soldiers: two Germans, a British major, and the major's driver. A drunken replacement from "I" Company had shot them, and Sergeant Grant was shot in the head when he confronted the man and attempted to disarm him.[3] Grant survived because of the quick actions of Ronald Speirs and Jack Foley, who rushed him to an aid station. The medic there told them that Grant would not survive.[3] However, Speirs, not willing to lose Grant, loaded him on a jeep and drove to Saalfelden, where he found a German brain surgeon who was able to operate and save Grant's life.[3]
Later years
Grant recovered slowly from the gunshot wound to his head, and he occasionally had some problems talking and his left arm was partially paralyzed.[4] He lived in San Francisco, owning a little tobacco shop. He attended several of the Easy Company reunions and became 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment's representative in the 101st Airborne association.[5] He died in 1984.
Medals and Decorations
Purple Heart 
World War II Victory Medal 
Presidential Unit Citation with one Oak Leaf Cluster 
Combat Infantryman Badge 
Parachutist Badge with 2 jump stars References
Bibliography
- Ambrose, Stephen E. (1992). Band of Brothers: Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780743464116.
External links
Categories:- 1922 births
- 1984 deaths
- American military personnel of World War II
- Band of Brothers characters
- Operation Overlord people
- People from Los Angeles, California
- Recipients of the Combat Infantryman Badge
- United States Army soldiers
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
