World War II Honoree

Charles Robert Cowan

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Mount Mourne, North Carolina

Honored By

Elpidio Manoso III (MAJ, US Army Retired)

Relationship

Nephew

He was inducted at Camp Croft near Spartanburg, South Carolina and then on to Camp Lee, near Richmond, Virginia, for basic training. Later, he trained as a cargo truck driver and was eventually certified to drive 1/4, 3/4, 1-1/2 and 2-1/2-ton cargo trucks. He next went to Moultrieville, South Carolina, where he attended Amphibious Vehicle Training School and was certified to drive a DUKW (Duck). He was inducted into the 458th Transportation Company (or Amphibian Truck Company), 131st Quartermaster Battalion (Mobile), part of the newly created Transportation Corps, which was under the overall Quartermaster Corps. The 458th Truck Company departed Charleston Port of Embarkation on November 16, 1943 and arrived December 4, 1943 in England for additional training. Headquarters, First Army, outlined the responsibilities of the engineer special brigades in an operations memorandum on 13 February 1944. Each engineer battalion beach group would support the assault of a regimental combat team and each engineer company group the assault landing of an infantry battalion landing team. First Army also authorized the grouping of the 5th and 6th Engineer Special Brigades under a headquarters known as the Provisional Engineer Special Brigade Group. His company, the 458th Amphibian Truck Company, was grouped as part of the 5th Engineer Special Brigade. For the Normandy D-Day invasion, nineteen companies were allocated to the invasion: 12 assigned to Omaha Beach, and 7 to Utah Beach. All were loaded with ammunition and other cargo, which would be crucial during the early stages of the invasion. The 453rd, 458th and 459th Transportation Corps Amphibious Truck Companies were assigned to the initial assault. Their mission was to deliver their cargo, then shuttle between the beach and the ships, offloading supplies and establishing supply and ammunition dumps. From June 6-7, 1944, the three companies lost 41 DUKWs while delivering supplies from ships to supply dumps established just behind the front lines. He and his DUKW, affectionately known as 'Speedy', came ashore on Normandy Beach on D-Day +2 of the Normandy Invasion. He and his brother Jesse, who was serving on a navy destroyer at the time, met on the beach later that day and shared a meal. He hauled dead and wounded across every river between Normandy Beach in France and the Rhine River in Germany. He was in Germany when the War ended. His decorations during the war included the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Medal with 4 Bronze Service stars and 1 Bronze Arrowhead, and Good Conduct Medal. He returned to the United States of America through the New York Port of Embarkation from overseas service, on board the USS General J. C. Breckinridge (AP-176) which left Marseilles, France on 15 August 1945.