He went to war as a child. Born in Alexandria, Louisiana, Charles (and his mother) lied about his age when he enlisted in the Navy the day he turned sixteen, a week after Pearl Harbor. After only ten days of boot camp he was sent to the Pacific on the light cruiser USS Helena (CL-50). Aboard that ship he helped transport troops and supplies to Guadalcanal and New Georgia. On July 5, 1943, in the Battle of Kula Gulf, two Japanese torpedoes sank the Helena. Fished from the waters the next day, Charles was assigned to LCI (G) 1023. That vessel sank in action off Iwo Jima. He served on an LSM during the battle for Okinawa. In late 1946 he was honorably discharged as seaman first class in Adak, Alaska at age nineteen. Charles spent most of his adult life as a fireman in the Alexandria Fire Department.