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| 2nd Lt. Charles Dushane, 9th Infantry Division, earned the Distinguished Service Cross in North Africa on the first day of the war in the Western Front for the American Army. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65304716/charles-dushane https://www.abmc.gov/news-events/news/remembering-operation-torch-allied-forces-land-north-africa-during-world-war-ii |
Charles Dushane, Jr. never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on December 25, 1919 in Oklahoma. His parents Charles and Myrtle were born in Oklahoma and Arkansas, respectively. The Dushanes were Shawnee Indians. His father worked as an oil leases broker and as a teacher. Charles had two older brothers and three older sisters. Charles was know locally for his Golden Gloves boxing proficiency. By 1940 he married Dorothy Ponder. They had two daughters.
He enlisted in the army in September 1940. He reached the rank of second lieutenant in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division (Nicknamed "Old Reliables"). The 9th ID was one of the first American units to see action in World War 2.
Lt. DuShane was killed in action by a French tank crew on November 8, 1942, the date his unit landed in Morocco as part of Operation Torch. Vichy French forces were initially ordered to fight the Americans and British. He was one of the first men on the Western Front to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
His DSC citation reads as follows:
With help of three enlisted men, Second Lieutenant Dushane entered the lighthouse on the Kasba-Mehdia after crossing enemy barbed wire entanglements while under heavy enemy small arms fire and captured 12 hostile troops who were using machine guns and rifles. This enabled our troops to take the strategic position commanded by the lighthouse.
He later demonstrated coolness and bravery beyond the call of duty when upon the withdrawal of our troops from the native village, he and Corporal Frank L. Czar manned an enemy anti-tank gun in full view of the enemy. Part of the breech of the gun had been removed and he was able to fire the gun only by firing bullets from his sub-machine gun into the base of the anti-tank shell. Meanwhile Corporal Czar aimed the gun. In this manner he destroyed one enemy tank and delayed the enemy attack. It was while operating this gun that Second Lieutenant Dushane lost his life.
Second Lieutenant Dushane's intrepid actions, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty at the cost of his life, exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 9th Infantry Division, and the United States Army.
His second daughter was born five months after his death. His father Charles Sr. died a few months after that.
His grave is at Sickles Cemetery in Sickles, Oklahoma. His widow may not have remarried. She died in 2004.
Last year on this date I profiled Pearl Harbor fallen and USNA graduate Edward Cloues, USS Arizona. You can read about Edward here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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