Born: May 18, 1918
Died: June 20, 1951
Campaigns Served: Namur, Saipan (wounded), Tinian, Iwo Jima
Highest Rank Attained: Platoon Sergeant
Decorations:
Purple Heart
Charles Czerweic was a pre-war regular Marine. His first hitch took him from sea duty aboard the USS Pensacola in 1937 to the Naval Air Station in Kodiak, Alaska in 1940.
With Dog Company:
As a sergeant, Czerweic was one of the original members of Dog Company, 24th Marines. He served with company headquarters as a Heavy Weapons NCO during the battle of Namur.
In March, 1944, Czerweic was transferred to Charlie Company.
With Charlie Company
Sergeant Czerweic became a section leader with Charlie Company's machine gun platoon. He fought with them through the Marianas campaign - he was wounded in a Japanese ambush on July 8, but recovered and was back on the line for Tinian - and was promoted to Platoon Sergeant in the fall of 1944.
Czerweic survived the battle of Iwo Jima, and ultimately survived the war. He was a true career Marine, and stayed in after the end of hostilities. In 1950, as a master sergeant, he ran the Reading, Pennsylvania recruiting office.
In 1951, Czerweic was serving with First Battalion, Sixth Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. At 1:15 PM on June 20, a mortar shell in one of the training areas accidentally exploded. Czerweic was hit in the leg and chest by pieces of shrapnel, and died at the scene.