Charles Harrison

Branch of Service: Navy

Theater of Operation: American

Enlisted / Commissioned: Dec 27, 1941

Highest Rank: Petty Officer

Honored By: The Eisenhower Foundation

Charles Harrison enlisted in the Navy on December 27, 1941, three weeks after the attack at Pearl Harbor, before he had finished High School. He received his boot training at San Diego, CA and was transferred to Chicago for machinist training. Harrison was then stationed in the Hawaiian Islands spending time at Pearl Harbor and Honolulu. Harrison saw ships and aircraft from the entire South Pacific in the naval yards for repair. Most ships he observed were damaged by torpedo’s and the “Saratoga” a large US Aircraft carrier was repaired for torpedo holes in its side, twice during Harrison’s time at the naval yard. Harrison returned to Chicago for training on propellor repair and then returned to his previous outfit on Oahu. Courtesy of the Dickinson County Heritage Center.