Medal of Honor recipient Charles H Coolidge dies sfgate.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sfgate.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C., April 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ The Congressional Medal of Honor Society regretfully announces that Charles H. Coolidge, Medal of Honor recipient, passed away Tuesday, April 6, 2021, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the age of 99.
In October 1944, Coolidge was a Technical Sergeant assigned to 2d Platoon, Company M, 3d Battalion, 141
st Infantry Regiment, 36
th Infantry Division, U.S. Army. His heavy machine gun unit was detailed to a dense wood east of Belmont-sur-Buttant, France, to cover the right flank of their battalion.
A large force of German Infantry was discovered near to their position and pressed an attack on Coolidge s unit. As there was no officer present, he assumed command. For three cold and rain-soaked days, Coolidge exposed himself to enemy fire as he went through the ranks, inspiring and supporting his men, many of whom had not seen combat before. His able leadership enabled his combat group to repulse re
Charles Coolidge, Oldest Medal of Honor Recipient, Dies at 99 nytimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nytimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By CHATTANOOGA TIMES FREE PRESS, TENN. | | Published: April 7, 2021 CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (Tribune News Service) Charles Henry Coolidge, Sr., the country s oldest Medal of Honor recipient, died peacefully on Tuesday at CHI Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn. He was 99. Coolidge received the nation s highest military honor for valor for his actions in the wooded mountains of France in October 1944, when he assumed command of an isolated group of 28 men, then defied the German army and two tanks for four days of continuous fighting. Coolidge was presented the Medal of Honor by Lt. Gen. Wade H. Haislip in a rare battlefield ceremony June 18, 1945, at a bombed-out airfield near Dornstadt, Germany.