US Army Corporal Charles Grant Wiandt was born in Oxford, Tuscarawas County, Ohio on October 18, 1913, the son of James Grant Wiandt (1892-1962) and Frances Lucille Fox (1894-1977). In 1920, his father supported his family as a machinist at a pipe shop for his wife and three children. But by 1930, the family was in Avon Park, Florida with his father still a machinist. After his parents split up in 1932, Charles stayed with his mother and stepfather Maurice A. Thompson (1892-1949) in Lakeland, Florida. Maurice was working as a repairman at a retail tire store at the time.
With the country engrossed in the Great Depression and with only a grammar school education, Charles chose to enlist in the Army in 1939. He was working for a sugar company in Clewiston, Hendry County, Florida at the time. After enlistment, he was stationed at Fort Barrancas. The following year, he married a local Pensacola girl by the name of Mary Lucille Dreadin (1923-1999) on July 1, 1940. She was the daughter of a WWI veteran and farmer Conrad Dreadin (1891-1969) and Cora Estelle Lewis (1901-1977) In 1943, he was sent to the 43rd Engineer Battalion as the casualties mounted in the Pacific and more and more soldiers were needed to see the job done. Therefore, Charles and his battalion were sent overseas in July 1944 where he served in New Guinea, the Philippines, and the Netherland East Indies. While he was overseas, his wife and two sons, Charles James (1941-) and Billie Edward (1943-2002), were living at 2318 North “V” Street in Pensacola.
Soon, it was time for the battle of Luzon, scheduled to commence on January 9, 1945. Air raids and constant bombing was being carried out on a daily basis. However, MacArthur planned to land his forces at Lingayen, which was located further north. This would serve to place his troops closer to several roads and railways on Luzon, which in turn led to Manila, which was his main objective anyway. Since his route would be crossing rough terrain, he needed his engineers prepare to pave the way. The battle began with a fleet of 70 ships and 175,000 men landing on the beaches of Lingayen Gulf. Six days later a smaller invasion took place near Manila. Before it was over it had become the largest campaign of the entire Pacific war.
In the midst of the fighting, Corporal Charles Grant Wiandt was killed in action on January 30, 1945. Sadly, he was only one of 8,310 young American killed in the battle along with 205,000 enemy soldiers and over 150,000 Filipinos. Charles was removed to the Grave Registration Company and after processing was buried in a military cemetery. After the war, his family chose to have him brought home and buried on February 17, 1949 in Barrancas Cemetery in Pensacola.
His three brothers were also in uniform, 1st Class Barnard with the USN at Jacksonville, SSGT Louis Wiandt with the USAAC at Atlantic City, and 1st Class Joseph Wiandt, with the Navy in the Pacific. After the war, his wife would remarry David L. P. Williams (1924-2008) and both plus her son Billie rests today in the Jacksonville Memory Garden, Jacksonville, Florida.
Comments