02/27/2019
Charles (Chuck) Henry Walter, Jr. was born in Pershing, Iowa on May 26, 1923, to Charles H. Walter, Sr., and Lillie (Chambers) Walter.
He valued his family’s history in the coal mining communities of Marion County. Chuck shared stories of his early years and those handed down from previous generations. His children learned to treasure their heritage by listening to tales that made their history real and personal.
Chuck attended Knoxville High School where he excelled in athletics and courted his future wife, Mary Esther Wilcox. He and Mary Esther married on January 31, 1944. They raised 4 children and celebrated 63 anniversaries together before her death in 2007.
Chuck served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He entered the service in May of 1943, and while a tail gunner on a B-26 Marauder, was shot down over Germany. Chuck remained a prisoner of war until April 1945. This experience marked his life indelibly. Interviewed for the National Archives, his harrowing experiences were recorded for posterity. He has made presentations to schools and service clubs, urging everyone to value freedom and remember its price. While in the service, Chuck received various medals and citations: The Purple Heart, One Cluster, the Air Medal, four clusters, and a Group Citation for the Battle of the Bulge. Chuck was named a “Chevalier”, or Knight, in the French National Order of the Legion of Honor, receiving a medal to honor his service to the people of France. Chuck joined other World War II veterans in the Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. in 2009. He was very moved by this experience.
After the war, Chuck was employed by the United States Postal Service as a clerk and carrier. He became Post Master at Knoxville Post Office in 1966 and served in that capacity for 10 years. Chuck enjoyed the people he met through his profession. His years as a mail carrier afforded him the opportunity to make many friends in the community.
Hunting and fishing were activities he enjoyed from childhood into his 8th decade. A byproduct of his years as a rural mail carrier was his first-hand knowledge of where the “big one” was hiding. This influenced his success with a fly rods, guns, and bows. In 1978 Chuck received the Big Buck award from the Iowa Bowhunters Association. His years as a sportsman afforded him much pleasure.
Chuck participated in many service organizations and civic activities. Becoming a Boy Scout leader and a Little League coach allowed him to influence and guide many young men. His service to the community through fundraising, playground building, community beautification, and collection and display of historical memorabilia and donations to philanthropic causes made him a significant contributor to his hometown and national organizations. He was a former member of the Y’s Men’s Club and Rotary and was acknowledged for his service to the Knoxville Senior Center. Chuck served as president of the Marion County Historical Society and received recognition for his contributions to the B-26 Marauder Historical Society.
Charles Walter passed away on Wednesday, February 27, 2019, at the West Ridge Nursing & Rehab Center at the age of 95 years.
He was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Willa Johnson and Bonnie Ferree.
Those left to honor his memory include his daughter, Jane A. of East Wenatchee, Washington; and his sons, Dan, Tom (Katherine) of Knoxville, and John (Diane) of Omaha, Nebraska; his close and dear friend Francis McComas of Newton; five grandchildren, Brian Bousman, Bridget Mohler, Alex, Lindsey, and Jared Walter; one great-grandson,
Ahren Mohler.
A Funeral Service for Charles H. Walter, Jr., age 95 of Knoxville, will be held on Monday, March 4, 2019, at 11:00 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church. Burial, with Military Honors, will follow in the Graceland Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Sunday at the Bybee & Davis Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Columbia United Methodist Church or to Every Step Hospice.