Tag: Sergeant Cornelius Charlton

July 5, 1950: Pvt. Kenneth Shadrick Killed in Action in Korea

On July 5, 1950, Army private Kenneth Shadrick of Wyoming County was killed in action, becoming one of the first U.S. servicemen killed in action during the Korean War.

He was brought down by North Korean machine-gun fire in the opening days of the conflict. Shortly thereafter, Time magazine ran a profile of Shadrick, claiming he was the first U.S. military casualty of the war. However, it’s now believed that other Americans died earlier on that same day.

Shadrick was one of more than 800 West Virginians to die during the Korean War, out of 112,000 West Virginia men and women who served. While some members of the West Virginia National Guard were assigned to Germany, which was rebuilding following World War II, other guardsmen served on the frontlines in Korea, including four companies of the 1092nd Engineer Combat Battalion from Parkersburg and Salem.

Four West Virginians received the Medal of Honor during the Korean War: Raleigh County native Cornelius Charlton, Darwin Kyle of Boone County, Ralph Pomeroy of Greenbrier County, and William Shuck Jr. of Mineral County. The war ended in 1953.

June 2, 1951: Sergeant Cornelius Charlton Killed in Battle

On June 2, 1951, Sergeant Cornelius Charlton was killed in battle. He was 21 years old. Charlton was a native of East Gulf in Raleigh County, the eighth of 17 children. His family moved to New York when he was a teenager, and he enlisted in the Army at age 17.  

When the Korean War broke out, he was transferred to Korea. Charlton volunteered for combat and was assigned to the 24th Infantry—the Army’s last all-black regiment.

On June 2, Charlton’s platoon was trying to capture a heavily defended hill. After his platoon leader was injured, Charlton took over and led three charges up the hill.

Badly wounded, he made one last dash into enemy fire, firing round after round at a Chinese bunker. Charlton died from his wounds and was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor. In 1954, the Charlton Memorial Bridge on the West Virginia Turnpike was dedicated in his honor.

Sergeant Charlton was originally buried in a family cemetery in Mercer County. In 1990, his body was moved to an American Legion cemetery in Beckley and then reinterred in Arlington National Cemetery in 2008.

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