Life & legacy
his Life
Charles Henry Coolidge was born on August 4, 1921, on Signal Mountain, Tennessee, a small town near Chattanooga. He was the youngest of three children. At the time, his family spent their summers living on Signal Mountain where the weather was a bit cooler, but during the colder winter months lived down in Chattanooga on Hanover Street. In 1928, when Charles was almost seven years old, they moved to Signal Mountain permanently, preferring the cooler temperatures and small-town atmosphere over the shorter commute to work. Along with his older siblings, Mary and Walter, Jr., Charles was raised on Signal Mountain and spent much of his youth outdoors. He loved sports, swimming in the local watering hole, climbing trees, and exploring the mountain with his siblings.
His family ran a printing company, Chattanooga Printing & Engraving (CP&E), that his father had started in 1910 in downtown Chattanooga. Charles worked there as a teenager learning the trade of bookbinding. Despite the Great Depression, his father worked hard to keep the business open, and his employees paid, teaching Coolidge about loyalty and duty, lessons which would later serve him well in the army. Charles also helped supplement the family’s income during the summer by selling magazine’s door-to-door. This taught him the value of hard work. Graduating from high school in 1939, Charles opted out of going to college that fall. When asked by a plant manager why he had not, he replied that he figured war was coming and “it didn’t take a whole lot of education to go to war.”
Drafted on June 16, 1942, Coolidge entered the U.S. Army at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia and underwent basic training at Fort McClellan, Alabama. After basic training he was sent to Camp Butner, North Carolina briefly, and then to Camp Edwards Massachusetts where he was assigned to Company M, 3rd Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division and trained on the water-cooled .30 caliber machine gun. After months of waiting at Camp Edwards and enduring an unusually harsh winter, the 36th Infantry Division would finally ship out from New York Harbor on April 2, 1943 for the European theater, arriving in North Africa 13 days later, where the division prepared for the invasion of Italy.
Charles H. Coolidge, approx. 1928
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Coolidge in 1942
The division trained relentlessly in North Africa. The running joke among the soldiers of the 36th was that the “T” on their patch stood for “training”. In July and August, the division ramped up their training which culminated in a final full-scale dry-run amphibious assault in preparation for what would be the landings at Salerno less than a month later. After this, the entire division was moved to a staging area and assembled for a mass formation where General Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, inspected the troops and paid his respects. The division was then loaded onto six ships and set out for Italy to see if all their training would pay off.
The 36th Infantry Division landed in Paestum, Italy on September 9, 1943, code named Operation Avalanche and participated in the Battle of Salerno. Coolidge was on one of the first landing craft (LCVP) to hit the shores. The ramp malfunctioned and the operator was unable to lower it, so Coolidge recalls having to climb over the side and fall into neck-deep water, burdened by a 51-pound machine gun tripod, a gas mask, and his full pack, to make his way to the beach.
Into the next year, Coolidge participated in some of the fiercest fights in Italy, including Anzio, San Pietro, the Rapido River, Monte Cassino, and the eventual capture of Rome. He had many close calls along the way and lost many good friends. During one incident while quietly making his way down a mountainside in the early hours before daybreak, his helmet got knocked off which alerted the Germans to his location and they opened up on him. He managed to double-time it down the mountain avoiding the small arms fire. Never one to have enjoyed wearing a helmet to begin with, Coolidge decided to forego a helmet for the rest of the war, choosing to wear only a jeep cap instead, and pointing to the British troops as an example of shirking such gear.
By summer 1944, Coolidge was now a Sergeant and a seasoned combat veteran. He had been awarded the Silver Star for his actions at Velletri in May of that year. At one point his company, normally 130 strong, was whittled down to 27 men. There had been many close calls and lessons learned when, on August 15, 1944, Coolidge participated in the landings in Southern France, code named Operation Dragoon. After suffering heavy casualties in Italy, most of the troops in Coolidge’s company were green replacements, fresh from boot camp. Resistance was weak in the early days of the drive north into France, and Coolidge recalled in his oral history covering 500 miles in the first month. The men began referring to this easy drive as the “Champagne Campaign”. But, as summer turned into fall, and the drive northward into France began to turn east into Germany, resistance became stronger.
In late October 1944, the 141st was in Belmont-sur-Buttant, France, in the Vosges Mountains less than 100 miles from the German border. By this time, Coolidge was a squad leader in charge of 12 men. Attached to Company K, Coolidge and his squad along with a platoon from Company K had just secured their intended objective, Hill 623, when they made contact with what they believed to be an enemy company in the wooded mountains east of Belmont-sur-Buttant. Being the most senior man present, Coolidge took command of what became a four-day standoff between the 27 Americans and an entire German infantry company (about 150 soldiers).
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Coolidge in Naples, Italy. July 1944.
A water-cooled 30mm M1917 Machine Gun in action in France. 1944
Unfazed by German small arms, machine-gun, and eventually tank fire from two German Tiger tanks, Coolidge walked up and down the lines, between foxholes, and provided calm and courageous leadership to the green men under his command. For some of the replacements, it was their first time under fire. The small American force repealed numerous attacks and held their ground for three long days. On the fourth day, it became apparent that they would need to withdraw from their position and regroup, so Coolidge calmly ordered the withdrawal, being himself the last to leave the position. For his heroic and superior leadership over the four days of intense fighting, he was nominated for the Medal of Honor, which would later be presented on a bombed-out airfield in Dornstadt, Germany in June of 1945. (Read the Medal of Honor citation and see video/photos of the ceremony here)
When asked how he survived the ordeal, Coolidge responded, “I didn’t care about me, I cared about my men. I’d do anything for them.” Coolidge survived the war, and, miraculously, was never wounded—a feat which he credited to his faith.
After the war, Coolidge returned home to Signal Mountain, Tennessee. He married Frances Seepe and they had three sons. He worked briefly for the Veteran’s Administration in the years immediately following WWII, but eventually took over the family’s printing business, Chattanooga Printing & Engraving. Coolidge retired from the family business at 95, and at his death on April 6, 2021, at age 99, he was one of only two WWII Medal of Honor recipients still living.
HIS LEGACY
Upon his return the city of Chattanooga declared August 8, 1945, "Coolidge Day", taking out a full-page advertisement in the local paper to make people aware of the festivities. A parade that included many dignitaries and other war heroes was held in his honor. The Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center in the heart of downtown Chattanooga is named in his honor, as well as a highway and a park in downtown Chattanooga. He was awarded the National Order of the Legion of Honor (Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur) in 2006 by the French Consulate. He was also honored in 2013, being one of only 12 Medal of Honor recipients to be featured on the cover of the Medal of Honor forever stamp sheet issued by the U.S. Postal Service. Additionally, he was. awarded the 2021 National George Marshall Award by the State Funeral for World War II Veterans organization in honor of his significant service.
The legacy of Charles H. Coolidge lives on as a testament to the highest ideals of military service. He exemplified compassion, integrity, and commitment in command, steady courage under fire, and an unshakeable devotion to his fellow soldiers. More than a Medal of Honor recipient, he remains a symbol of American patriotism, citizenship, valor, character, and the quiet strength that defines true leadership.
Charles H. Coolidge considered his actions during World War II not as acts of valor, but simply as part of his duty to his country and to the men under his command. He repeatedly placed himself in the line of fire during his two years on the front lines - not in pursuit of recognition or medals, but out of a deep sense of loyalty and responsibility to those who served under and alongside him. His quiet bravery, matched by remarkable humility, defined him as a leader who inspired through action rather than words.
Coolidge’s courage was not a fleeting moment of valor, but a sustained commitment to standing firm in the face of overwhelming odds. Even under relentless enemy fire, he remained calm, composed, and resolute, setting an example that lifted the spirits of his fellow soldiers and helped them persevere through some of the darkest moments of the war, and probably their lives. He led not with fear or force, but with compassion—earning the respect and trust of those he fought beside.
Coolidge in 2013