Charles C. Harpin (1923 - 2000)

Born 21 Dec 1923 in Connecticut, United States

Died 12 Mar 2000 at age 76 in Waterbury, New Haven, Connecticut, United States

SSgt. Charles Harpin was a Prisoner of War during World War II.

Biography

Charles was born in 1923. He was the son of Eugene and Eva Harpin. ^[1]

Military Service

He enlisted for duty during World War II on January 21, 1943 in Hartford, Connecticut. ^[2][3]

After training at Gunnery School in Harlingen, Texas and Armorer School in Colorado, he was assigned to the 703rd Bomb Squadron of the 445th Bombardment Group, based at Tibenham, England. He was a waist and tail gunner on B-24s. On his 13th mission, April 12, 1944, the plane afire, he parachuted to safety. A Belgian family took him in and hid him in their attic for three days, after which he took refuge with the Marquise underground for 13 days. He was captured in the Ardennes Forest and held in a civilian jail, after which he was transferred to the Dulag Luft, and then on to the Luft. On February 6, 1945, he was marched across Germany to Hamburg, put on a train to Berlin, then marched to the Russian lines at Torgau. He was liberated by American troops on April 29, 1945. ^[3][4] He was discharged from service on October 31, 1945 as a staff sergeant.

He married Beulah White on July 14, 1945, and they had three children.^[3]

He passed away in Waterbury, Connecticut on March 12, 2000 ^[5] and is interred at Edgewood Cemetery in Wolcott, Connecticut. ^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XM52-XL2 : accessed 18 April 2019), Charles Harpin in household of Eugene C Harpin, Waterbury, New Haven, Connecticut, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 249, sheet 6B, line 90, family 108, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 280; FHL microfilm 2,340,015.
2. ↑ "United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K851-X99 : 5 December 2014), Charles C Harpin, enlisted 21 Jan 1943, Hartford, Connecticut, United States; citing "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946," database, The National Archives: Access to Archival Databases (AAD) (http://aad.archives.gov : National Archives and Records Administration, 2002); NARA NAID 1263923, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Hatch, Gardner N., W. Curtis. Musten, and John S. Edwards. American Ex-prisoners of War: Non Solum Armis. Vol.3. Paducah, KY: Turner Pub., 1988. Print.
4. ↑ United States, World War II Prisoners of War, 1941-1945, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q29D-S3LD : 18 February 2016), Charles C Harpin, 12 Apr 1944; citing Military Service, Germany, NARA NAID 1263907 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
5. ↑ "Connecticut Death Index, 1949-2001," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VZPX-HWW : 9 December 2014), Charles C Harpin Sr, 12 Mar 2000; from "Connecticut Death Index, 1949-2001," database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2003); citing Waterbury, New Haven, Connecticut, Connecticut Department of Health, Hartfort.
6. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVGT-4JH9 : 13 December 2015), Charles C. Harpin, 2000; Burial, Wolcott, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America, Edgewood Cemetery; citing Find A Grave: Memorial #131676553, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

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