Cornelius H. Charlton

Who was Cornelius H. Charlton?

Cornelius H. Charlton was a soldier in the United States Army during the Korean War. Sergeant Charlton posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions near Chipo-ri, South Korea on 2 June 1951.

Born to a coal mining family in West Virginia in 1929, Charlton moved to The Bronx in New York City during World War II. Enlisting out of high school in 1946, Charlton served first in occupied Germany, then occupied Japan in administrative duties before requesting transfer to the front. An African American, Charlton was transferred to the segregated 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division fighting in the Korean War. During a battle for Hill 543 near the village of Chipo-ri, Charlton took command of his platoon after its commanding officer was injured, leading it on three successive assaults of the hill. Charlton continued to lead the attack despite mortal wounds until Chinese troops occupying it were destroyed, saving his platoon. For these actions, Charlton was awarded the medal.

In the following years, Charlton was honored numerous times, but was controversially not given a spot in Arlington National Cemetery, which his family claimed was due to racial discrimination. The controversy attracted national attention before Charlton was finally reburied in Arlington in 2008.