CHARLES HOWARD ROAN (1923 ~ 1944). Born in Claude, Texas on August 16, 1923, Medal of Honor Recipient Charles Howard Roan worked at a local service station and garage after school and on weekends. He moved to California at the age of 17 and stayed there with his brother, Henry Roan Jr.
In 1942, he volunteered for the Marine Corps. Roan, a private first class, shipped out to the Pacific in 1943, and served in Eastern New Guinea, the Bismark Archipelago, and the Palau Islands.
It was while in the Palau Islands, on September 18, 1944, that a small isolated group including Roan became involved in a furious and heavy exchange of small arms fire and grenades with the enemy. Roan was wounded by one exploding grenade before another live enemy grenade landed in the middle of his small group. Roan dove on the grenade and absorbed its explosion. For his selfless action, he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three battle stars.
His Medal of Honor was presented to his family by President Truman in July 1945. In 1946, the Navy launched a destroyer named in his honor, the USS Charles H. Roan. A plaque which honors Roan in Claude, Texas, was donated by the USS Charles H. Roan Association.
His name is engraved on the Wall of the Missing at the American National Cemetery in Manila, Philippine Islands.
Bibliography: "Above and Beyond: The Medal of Honor in Texas," Capitol Visitors Center, State Preservation Board of Texas. Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association, University of Texas, http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/RR/frock.html, September 26, 2005. USS Charles H. Roan Association, http://www.usscharleshroan.org/chroan.htm, October 13, 2005. United State Marine Corps: History and Museums Division, http://hqinet001.hqmc.usmc.mil/HD/Historical/Whos_Who/Roan_CH.htm, October 13, 2005.
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