Platoon Sgt. Charles E. Daniels of Detroit, Michigan joined the Army as a 15-year-old during World War II. He was many things to many people. Responsible leader, star athlete, coach, husband, father, friend, jokester, the list is long. Some called him Chuck. Others shortened his last name and called him Dan. There was also that nickname, Dirty Dan. He was the kind of guy who usually had a big grin on his face. He was slender, maybe 160 pounds (on a 6-foot-1 frame), and was often teased about being skin and bones, but he was tough as nails. He played end on the football team and competed against guys much bigger than him. He ran the mile and half-mile on the regimental track team and was one of the post's top runners. He was very competitive in everything he did. His father left their Detroit home when he was very young, and he grew up a streetwise kid, learning to rely on himself. He joined the Army in 1944 when he was 15 and was sent to Europe. He met his future wife at a dance for teenagers in Detroit. The attraction was instant for her and probably was for him, too. They married in 1950, a year after he was assigned to the 325th. Chuck was serving on Okinawa when the conflict in Southeast Asia heated up in the 1960s, and he was sent to Vietnam. He was a soldier's soldier. When you saw him, you saw a man dressed right, sharp, and ready to go. He really loved soldiering and was easy to get to know because he always had a smile on his face. He was always, ‘Whatever you want to do, I'm with you.' There was nothing that he was afraid to try to do. He was a three-time coach of the track team at Fort Bragg. He enjoyed officiating athletic events, including boxing. On weekends, he loved cooking steaks for family and friends. The TV was usually tuned to a sports event. He loved to hunt and go deep-sea fishing, bringing home seafood and an occasional duck for the family dinner table. It's a tossup which he loved most, his shotguns or his cigars, but smart money would be on the stogies. He had a cigar in his mouth most of the time. He was full of energy and was a lot of fun. Rumors were that he was scheduled to come home, that his replacement was on site, but that he wanted to run a last mission with his troops. His death left his wife a single mother with three children, ages 13, 9, and 5. Her voice still quivers when she talks about the way the news was delivered. No military representative. No chaplain. A cab driver brought the telegram. They were getting ready to go to church. But Chuck and his family had made many friends at Fort Bragg, and they rallied in support. Sgt. Daniels was killed in action in Vietnam at age 38. He is honored on Panel 6E, Row 43 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Army
82nd Airborne Division
325th Airborne Infantry Regiment
Fort Bragg, North Carolina