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Charles E. Dwinal was born in
Pennsylvania on 11 May 1919 and was 21 years old when
the 1940 Census showed him as a PFC living in Barrio, Post of San Juan
(San Juan), Puerto Rico.
By 24 April 1945 he had already been
elevated to the rank of 1st Sergeant when he was transferred from the
51st Reinforcement Battalion to Company "I", 508th PIR. During the
following month he was briefly transferred to Company E.
Charles was released from the Army on
29 August 1945 but two years later he enlisted in the fledgling
one-month-old Air Force. He was subsequently released from the
USAF on 27 October 1949.
 But,
based on the travel document at left, he must have re-enlisted again as
his family was sailing on the USS Upshur (T-AP198) to NY City with a
final destination of Turner AFB, Albany, Georgia. Listed are his
wife Maria (29) and children Nancy (10), Charles (8), Irma (6) and
Shirley (2).
This was not the family's first tour
on the mainland as Irma's birthplace is listed as Allentown, PA while
her siblings are all either San Juan or Aguadilla, literally opposite
ends of the island implying other postings not yet found.
Charles died in Carolina Puerto Rico
and was laid to rest in Puerto Rico National
Cemetery. |
