“We bobbed like a floater on a fishing pole for a day; the sea was too rough to take us ship to shore. It’s not gonna
look good to get one of these military boats stuck, you know. ” It is the simple explanation of how Charlie Brakebill
landed on Omaha Beach in World War II. A native of Madisonville, Brakebill entered the U.S. Army at 18 years of
age, serving three years in Europe during WWII. Little over four months past the invasion at Normandy, Charlie
found himself walking up the steep hill to the unforgettable sight of over 15,000 white crosses of American graves.
“Wow, what an introduction to France, ” he thought.
Charlie grew up in Madisonville and, as
a child, attending primary school on the
grounds of Hiwassee College. He recounts
fondly the student teachers that taught and
cared for the students; one in particular
gave a gift to Charlie that was so cherished it
remained in his living room until leaving for
college. By the look on his face as he shares,
you know this was a special time. Moving on
to Madisonville High School, another teacher
would have a lasting impact, professor R.W.
Howard, whose influence set a passion in
Charlie to attend college and become an
educator of Vocational Agriculture. With a
goal in sight, he set about with determination
following his high school graduation in
May 1942 and enrolled at the University of
Tennessee in Knoxville.
At the time of entering college, the draft
age for the war was 20, which indicated
his education would not be interrupted.
However, that changed on October 7th,
and Charlie welcomed the birthday that
signified eligibility to be drafted. Under the
advisement of his college roommate’s father,
Charlie enter the Enlisted Reserve Corps and
was sworn into the U.S. Army on December
12, 1942. It was the following spring before
Charlie received orders to report, and on
April 6,1943, he arrived at Ft. Oglethorpe,
Georgia. Just before his arrival to base, a chance
encounter would begin a lifelong friendship,
one that would set the path of his unforgettable
legacy. At the top of the Incline Railway in
Chattanooga, Charlie Brakebill met Ed Boling,
a fellow UT student also headed to military
service. The impact of this friendship is still
felt today.
Following weeks of training, Charlie and Ed
headed to Fort McClellan in Anniston, Alabama,
where new troops trained for the fighting in
North Africa. The next stage was assignment to
ASTP, the Army Specialized Training Program
located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. By March 1944,
Charlie was receiving a battery of testing and
enrolled in some engineering classes at the
University of Alabama, and by April 1944, he
was assigned to the 1675th Engineering Utilities
Detachment at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana.
WWII Graves in France
28 McMINN LIFE HOLIDAY/WINTER 2020