#VeteranOfTheDay Army Veteran Charles Walter Magneson

Veteran of the Day graphic by Tenzin Chomphel.

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Charles Walter Magneson. Charles served during World War II from 1942 to 1946.

Charles was not happy at college, so he decided to enlist in the Air Force. He later joined a specialized training program and transferred to the Army. As part of the program, Charles attended Clarkson College for nine months and trained to become an engineer. There were no civilians at the college at the time, it had been taken over completely by the Army. Charles finished this training in March 1944 and was sent to Louisiana to do maneuvers with the 75^th Division. During this time, Charles would sometimes have to march for eight or nine hours a day and do maneuvers all night. He went on leave after this before his unit was set to go overseas, but he fell very ill and was not ready to leave when the rest of his unit left.

Charles ended up going overseas as an individual replacement and joined the 99^th Division. When he first got there, they asked for volunteers for a carpentry project, so Charles volunteered. The captain did not have much experience with carpentry, so he was concerned because he did not know how to make a building square. Charles was able to help the captain complete the project and make sure the building was square. He then returned to his unit and spent his time in a dugout, which was very uncomfortable when the snow and ice began to thaw and got everything in his dugout wet. Charles carried a bazooka across Belgium and France. His unit encountered a lot of resistance at the Battle of the Bulge, taking many casualties. Charles ended up near Nuremberg when the war ended. He finished up college after he was discharged. Charles passed away in 2017. More of his story can be found at http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.34961/ 

We honor his service.

Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.

Veterans History Project

This #VeteranOfTheDay profile was created with interviews submitted to the Veterans History Project. The project collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war Veterans so that future generations may hear directly from Veterans and better understand the realities of war. Find out more at http://www.loc.gov/vets/.

Contributors:

Graphic designer: Tenzin Chomphel

Editor: Jenna Robles