Top Photo: A stack of photos collected by Charles Coleman Fortner during his WWII military service. 

Charles Coleman Fortner was born on July 22, 1925, in Paris, Arkansas. A gifted athlete, he won first place in the broad jump in 1941 as a member of his 9th-grade track team. On December 15, 1941, eight days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Fortner left school to enlist in the US Marine Corps. He was 16 years old.

As was the case for many WWII veterans, Fortner remained silent about his combat experiences, keeping photographs from the war tucked away in a shoebox. It wasn’t until his son Rod and grandson James contacted the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy’s Historical Research Services department at The National WWII Museum that they learned more about his wartime service.  

Our Historical Research Services team helps families discover their veteran’s WWII story by locating and translating their Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) from the National Archives Records Administration (NARA) in St. Louis. The OMPF is the key to understanding a veteran’s military service and may include information on their training, medical records, major battles, unit and action reports, promotions, awards, and more. Any files that are retrieved undergo a thorough review by the Museum’s Research Historian for verification before being sent to the family.

Official Military Personnel File photo of Charles Coleman Fortner. National Archives Records Administration. 

Like many other families of WWII veterans, Fortner’s family knew next to nothing about his service. All they knew was that he was in the Marine Corps, that he was 16 years old when he enlisted, and that he was stationed somewhere in the Pacific in 1942–45. Even though he grew up surrounded by WWII veterans in his small Arkansas town, Rod Fortner knew very little about where his dad served and what he had experienced as a young Marine. He picked up a book some years ago about the 2nd Marine Division’s history during World War II, but he did not know which battalion or company his dad served in. All he and his family could do was revisit the handful of stories his dad had shared over the years and contemplate what may have happened based on that shoebox of pictures.

When I received Charles Fortner’s OMPF from the National Archives, the exact details of his WWII service were finally brought to life. According to the file, Fortner served with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, on the islands of Tulagi, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Saipan. I sent the Fortner family a copy of the file with the recommendation that we continue our research to create a fuller narrative of their veteran. When a veteran’s file has substantial information on their service history, our team can turn their WWII story, family history, and personal and archival photos into a fuller biography bound in book form.

I soon had the pleasure of sitting down with Rod and James Fortner at the Museum to discuss Charles’s wartime service. With the shoebox of pictures in hand, we began putting the puzzle pieces together. Revisiting his dad’s combat experiences was an emotional journey for Rod. During the research process, he wondered where his dad had been on his 17th birthday. Based on the chronological movement of Charles Fortner and his fellow Marines in his file, we determined that he turned 17 aboard the USS President Adams and disembarked with his company at Tulagi on August 8, 1942, during the initial assault of the Guadalcanal Campaign. He would go on to see intense combat on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Saipan.

The file also revealed that Fortner was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for his actions on Guadalcanal and a Purple Heart for wounds he received on Saipan. Rod Fortner mentioned that when his father returned stateside, he tossed all his equipment and war trophies into San Francisco Bay. The only item he kept was a Japanese flag recovered from an enemy soldier, a reminder that being a Marine was a serious and dangerous occupation. Charles Fortner suffered from night terrors for years after returning home as he relived his time overseas.

For years, Fortner’s family relied on the few stories he had shared about his wartime experiences and let their imaginations run wild looking at the pictures in the shoebox. Now, after all these years, the Craig Institute’s Historical Research Services team was able to uncover and explain his wartime service. This narrative is now bound in a beautiful hardcover book that is ultimately an heirloom the Fortners can share with their family for generations to come.  

This same connection to the past is also available to you and your family. Click here to learn more about our Historical Research Services.