Charles enlisted Dec 30, 1942, serial # 36416502. He departed from Kalamazoo, MI for basic training at Dyersburg, TN. He was the lead driver on the convoy to Moblilw, AL where he was assigned to the 853rd Cop of Engineers BN/AVN.

He was aboarded the HMT Rohna on Nov 26, 1943 when the British transport ship was attacked from the air and destroyed in the Mediterrean Sea off the coast of Algeria. The ship was part of a convoy of 24 ships. The Rohna was positioned all the way to the back on the port side called the "coffin corner" because it sticks out by itself with no protection.

The Rohna was an old ship with practically all of the lifeboats hanging on chains which were rusted in place, making launching impossible. Hundreds died when the missle struck the Rohna. Others perished from cold and exhaustion when darkness & rough seas hampered rescue efforts. The sinking of the Rohna was so devasting that the US government placed a veil of secrecy upon it for 58 years, when the records were finally reliased under the Freedom of Inormation Act.

One thousand fifteen soldiers died from the sinking of the Rohna. In 1996 a monument at Fort Mitchell National Cemetery in Seales, AL, was dedicated to the memory of the soldiers lost that day.

Charles body was never recovered, he was twenty years old at the time of his death.

Th

Charles J Harrington