Charles John Ashe

2LT in 3133rd Signal Service Co : Officer

ASN#17064289

Born 1921 in MO, Died 1977

County of residence at enlistment: Jackson County, MO

Other residence(s): Kansas City, MO; Denver, CO; Watertown, NY

United States Army, European Theatre of Operations

College education before the war: Colorado State Univ. 2 years

Notes: 1LT in 1944 Christmas Program; CPT in Reserves in 1952; MAJ 1962; in 1969 Executive Officer of the 332nd Ordnance Battalion

Source: 3133rd Program, 15 Sept 1944; AES 1944 Christmas Dinner Program; photo from Ancestry® (1939 high school yearbook)

Charles Ashe was born on January 17, 1921 in Kansas City, MO. He was an only child; his father worked as a railroad machinist.

The family moved to Denver, CO at some point and Charles' father took a job as a weatherman with the weather bureau. Charles graduated from West High School in Denver 1939, where he played in the band, headed up the drill team, and served as captain of the ROTC unit there.

Charles studied for two years at Colorado State University. When he registered for the draft, on February 14, 1942, he was living in Kansas City and working at Hall Brothers. (Hall Brothers would go on to become Hallmark.)

The following month, on March 26, 1942, Charles enlisted in the Air Corps. Later records show he served in the 20th Armored Division. He was commissioned a 2LT on June 12, 1943 and eventually found his way into the 3133 Signal Service Company.

While stationed at Pine Camp, in Watertown, NY, he met a local young woman named Beverly Hubbard whom he would eventually marry. He was promoted to 1LT in December, 1944, while still at Pine Camp, and he served in Europe during the final months of the war. After his return he was stationed at Fort Jackson, SC, and he and Beverly married on December 1, 1945.

After his discharge from the Army, he joined the Army Reserves and went to work as an auto salesman for Beverly's father, who owned the Chrysler Plymouth dealership in Watertown. Mr. Hubbard had started in the auto industry in 1909, and ran Wilna Motor Sales from 1932-1954.

Charles and Beverly became the parents of three sons in the next ten years: Richard, Gary, and Stephen. Charles' work career and his Reserve career developed in parallel. He became the treasurer of Wilna and transferred, with most of the rest of Wilna's staff, to Town Motor Sales in 1954 when Mr. Hubbard retired. He later moved on to become area representative for the Forsyth Motor Company of Syracuse in the early 1960s, and the northern sales manager for the Parish Oil Company by 1969.

He was promoted to the rank of CPT in the Reserves in 1952, and to that of MAJ in 1962. In 1969 he was serving as Executive Officer of the 332nd Ordnance Battalion, and was awarded a letter of commendation for his contribution to the high performance of the unit.

In 1971 he retired from the Reserves (after 29 years of Army service) and two years later he moved back to Kansas City (without his family, it appears). There he was a member of the American Legion.

Charles died on January 14, 1977 in Kansas City, MO.