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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Online Library of Selected Images:
-- PEOPLE -- UNITED STATES --
Corporal Charles J. Berry, USMC, (1923-1945)
Charles Joseph Berry was born on 10 July 1923 at Lorain, Ohio.
He graduated from Clearview High School and worked as a truck
driver before enlisting in the Marine Corps in October 1941. Following
recruit training at Parris Island, South Carolina, Berry was briefly
stationed at Quantico, Virgina, before transferring to New River,
North Carolina, where he qualified as a parachutist. In June 1942,
he was promoted to Private First Class. In the Spring of 1943,
he went to the south Pacific with the First Parachute Battalion,
participating in the Bougainville Campaign in late 1943 and early
1944. Berry then returned to the United States and was assigned
to the Fifth Marine Division. During the Summer of 1944, he was
promoted to Corporal and departed for further duty in the Pacific.
With the First Battalion, Twenty-sixth Marines, Fifth Marine
Division, Corporal Berry landed on Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945
and took part in nearly two weeks of combat as a machine-gun crew
member. On 3 March, when Japanese troops attacked his position
with grenades, he threw the the explosive weapons back at to the
enemy until one grenade landed in his foxhole. Berry promptly
dived on it, sacrificing his life to save others from serious
injury. For this "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at
the risk of his life," he was posthumously awarded the Medal
of Honor. Charles J. Berry is buried at Elmwood Cemetery,
Lorain, Ohio.
USS Charles Berry (DE-1035), 1959-1974, was named in
honor of Corporal Charles J. Berry, USMC.
This page features the only images we have concerning Charles
J. Berry.
Click on the small photograph to prompt
a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 103906-A
Corporal Charles J. Berry, USMC
Who was awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously, for "conspicuous
gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life" on 3
March 1945, during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
Official U.S. Marine Corps Photograph, from the collections
of the Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 49KB; 585 x 765 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 103906
Corporal Charles J. Berry, USMC
Halftone reproduction of a photograph, copied from the official
publication "Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The Navy",
page 157.
Charles J. Berry received the Medal of Honor, posthumously, for
"conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his
life" on 3 March 1945, during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 68KB; 590 x 765 pixels |
 |
Medal of Honor citation of Corporal Charles J. Berry, USMC
(as printed in the official publication "Medal of Honor,
1861-1949, The Navy", page 157):
"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk
of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a Member of
a Machine-Gun Crew, serving with the First Battalion, Twenty-sixth
Marines, FIFTH Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese
forces during the seizure of Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands,
on 3 March 1945. Stationed in the front lines, Corporal Berry
manned his weapon with alert readiness as he maintained a constant
vigil with the other members of his gun crew during the hazardous
night hours. When infiltrating Japanese soldiers launched a suprise
attack shortly after midnight in an attempt to overrun his position,
he engaged in a pitched hand-grenade duel, returning the dangerous
weapons with prompt and deadly accuracy until an enemy grenade
landed in the foxhole. Determined to save his comrades, he unhesitatingly
chose to sacrifice himself and immediately dived on the deadly
missile, absorbing the shattering violence of the exploding charge
in his own body and protecting the others from serious injury.
Stout-hearted and indomitable, Corporal Berry fearlessly yielded
his own life that his fellow Marines might carry on the relentless
battle against a ruthless enemy and his superb valor and unfaltering
devotion to duty in the face of certain death reflect the highest
credit upon himself and upon the United States Naval Service.
He gallantly gave his life for his country." |
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Page made 15 July 2006
New image added and text revised 30 September 2006