His service stands as part of the larger story of ordinary Americans who performed extraordinary tasks under unimaginable conditions.
It was on April 15, 1943, that a new Army division consisting of 14,000 soldiers named the 75th Infantry Division was formed and began training. They trained hard for more than a year while not knowing what their role in WWII would be.
They shipped to England for additional combat training in mid-November 1944. And on New Year’s Eve, 1944, the 75th Infantry Division arrived in the Ardennes Forest to join the Battle of the Bulge. As new replacements to the battle, those who had been in it for the first two weeks called them the “Diaper Division” because they were all so young.(I shipped out on the RMS Queen Elizabeth)
I was one of the 18-year-old soldiers who was an infantry rifleman, Waxahachie resident, Private Charles E. Atchley. At 5’-5” and weighing only 105 pounds. I was greeted to the “front lines” with the coldest winter in France and Belgium in 50 years. For 14 straight days of frantic combat, Me and my brothers-in-arms fought, ate, tried to sleep, and did all the bodily functions you and I do daily while occasionally seeking refuge in snow foxholes with mud and ice at the bottom. The foxholes they dug each day as the fighting moved.
While my regiment continued to fight, I was forced off the front line when my feet froze. I was shipped to a French hospital in Marseilles, France, for several months while doctors worked to save his feet from amputation. I was then transferred to a U.S. hospital in Oklahoma for many more months of therapy to learn to walk again. As a result of my combat, I was awarded two Bronze Stars and the French Legion. I was 1 of 3 to receive two Bronze Stars.
I was presented France’s Legion of Honor Medal in 2013 during a special ceremony held in Dallas with the French ambassador. It’s important that people remember World War II, what was at stake and why the nation went to war, “Freedom is not free.”
Before joining the Army in 1945 the year I turned 19. I was asked originally at age 18 to be a combat fighter pilot for the Navy by the Officer. I wanted to go because of my ability and knowledge of flying. My parents told me, “No!”. They didn’t want me to be shot down and the war would soon be over.
In the midst of the battle I thought about many things. One of them that helped me was football. I played football in my mind on the battlefield. I loved football and I made defense moves as if I was on the “football “ field darting behind trees due to heavy firing to give me cover before heading back out dodging the German’s retaliations from gun fire to Tiger tanks to get to my next point carrying mortar rounds like a football.
My favorite team today is “The Cowboys!”
While away I would write back home to my mother. Roughly 14-20 letters in total, but had not heard a response back yet. Sometimes mail took longer to receive during the war from and to our loved one’s, but when I officially returned home. My letter’s arrived in the mail box on the same day I came home. My service ended after my feet froze under adverse weather conditions.I still feel the effects on my feet to this day.
I would go on to work 33 years for the U.S. Postal Service in Dallas, starting out as a letter carrier and working my way up the ranks to chief of accounting before retiring.
I grew up in Red Oak and Ellis County, moved to Waxahachie, Texas.
I have friends who help me get to the different veterans’ gatherings, including an annual get-together at the Houston Stock Show.
I also was a participant in the 2008 Ellis County Honor Flight, which took local World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to see their memorial and other monuments, 2023 in New Orleans. June 14, 2025 at the 250th Army Anniversary / Birthday Ceremony I received a letter from Congressman Jake Ellzey, and Greg Abbott receiving the Quilt of Valor with a few other certificates of recognition.
February 3, 2025 Charles celebrated his 100th birthday.
Endnote
- Helmet of the Private Charles Atchley, company A/290 infantry regiment of the 75th Infantry Division. Atchley was born on the 4th of February 1926 in Texas. He joined the US army on the 21st of April 1944 and received the ASN 38685550.
- Private Atchley arrived in Europe on the 13th of December and was rushed into Belgium to repel the Germans. The division arrived around the 23th December in the bulge and started facing heavy resistance around Grandmenil – Manhay.
- During the bulge, private Atchley was awarded the bronze star for destroying two German tanks with a bazooka during a German counter attack.
- In February 1945, Private Atchley was awarded a second bronze star during the Alsace campaign. During this campaign, the 75th Infantry Div was involved in the assaults on the Colmar Pocket as the town of Colmar was liberated in fighting between the Rhine River and the Vosges Mts. Suffering from trenchfoot, private Atchley was evacuated and sent to the rear in February and will finish the war in a hospital.
- The Motto of the 75th ID is “Make Ready.” Atchley attended artillery school at Fort Sill, Ok. He was assigned the #1 position on a gun crew serving a 105mm howitzer during the Battle of the Bulge. Atchley was responsible for closing the breech cover after the shell was loaded and pulling the lanyard. Atchley said he enjoyed experiencing the recoil and the boom of the howitzer as it fired the artillery shell. The blast was a lot different in training then during actual combat. Atchley’s response was “ This is fun”.
- Germany didn’t have access to the sea in WWII. They had a lot of submarines. One submarine went into New York Harbor and sank one ship. Charles went to Europe with Queen Elizabeth. They went to Glasgow, Scotland in four and a half days. The USO would have supper and then a show. The troops went on a railroad and went all the way down from Glasgow to South Hampton England, where the troops got on three ships to go to France. There were 19,000 in the group. From there they went up to Belgium. All up north, there used to be camo caravans. They would bring food and supplies for Europe. That trail was as wide as a football field. On the American side there was a swamp. The German tanks if they got too far off would slip into the mud. General Eisenhower had four divisions. The 290th Division was among the four.something else. The Germans had to stop because they were running out of gas. Charles survived the Bulge he said because he was so small. The one thing he could not escape was the cold. The troops were not outfitted with winter clothing and it got unbearably cold in the fox holes. Charles had to go to several hospitals to treat his frozen feet.
- Charles was in the mortar squad. He had a backpack that had two mortars in it. If they got hit by anything, they would explode. There were two men carrying the mortars. Charles learned to run in a zig zag pattern to be sure the mortars were never hit. The army would get the soldiers a hot meal every day which was hot oatmeal with raisins. Charles still had hot oatmeal with raisins every morning. He had oatmeal on the morning of the reunion.
- After the battle of the Bulge the 75th went to the Colmar Pocket which was in Alsase, France. The day the 75th got to Colmar, Charles was 19 years old. Charles was in the A-Company. He was one of 10 soldiers to get a blue Combat Infantry badge that day. Audie Murphy was already stationed in Colmar. Audie was 10 days older than Charles and he grew up in the next town. Audie was from Princeton Texas and Charles was from Lucas which is close to Allen Texas. He never saw Audie when he was in Europe. Audie was in the 3rd Infantry. Audie made a lot of movies.
January 1–3, 1945 — Movement Toward the Ardennes
Primary Location: Northern France → Belgium
What Atchley Was Doing:
- Moving with the 75th toward the collapsing northern shoulder of the Bulge.
- Snow, ice, and sub‑zero temperatures slow movement.
- Division assigned to reinforce the First Army.
January 4–7, 1945 — First Combat: Grandmenil–Amonines Sector
Primary Location: Grandmenil, Belgium
Secondary Location: Amonines, Belgium
What Atchley Was Doing:
- Entering combat for the first time.
- Fighting in forests and steep, snow‑covered terrain.
- Engaging German forces withdrawing from the Manhay–Grandmenil corridor.
January 8–11, 1945 — Attacks Toward Vielsalm
Primary Location: Vielsalm, Belgium
What Atchley Was Doing:
- Pushing east to cut German escape routes.
- Clearing woods, roadblocks, and fortified houses.
- Fighting in deep snow and freezing fog.
January 12–17, 1945 — Crossing the Salm River
Primary Location: Salm River Crossing
What Atchley Was Doing:
- Assaulting across the icy Salm River under fire.
- Securing high ground east of the river.
- Helping collapse the last German positions in the northern Bulge.
January 18–25, 1945 — Clearing the Bulge
Primary Location: Lierneux, Belgium
Secondary Location: Burtonville, Belgium
What Atchley Was Doing:
- Driving German forces back toward the Siegfried Line.
- Fighting in villages, forests, and frozen ridgelines.
- Helping eliminate the last German footholds in the Ardennes.
Late January 1945 — Bulge Ends, Division Redeploys
Primary Location: Comblain‑la‑Tour, Belgium
What Atchley Was Doing:
- Regrouping after intense winter combat.
- Preparing for the next major campaign: the Rhineland.
Charles Atchley’s 75th Infantry Division fought in the final, decisive phase of the Battle of the Bulge — from Grandmenil to the Salm River — helping seal the northern shoulder and force the German retreat.
Charles Atchley was assigned to the 75th Infantry Division, a newly formed infantry division composed of:
- 289th Infantry Regiment
- 290th Infantry Regiment
- 291st Infantry Regiment
The division was activated in 1943, trained in the United States, and shipped overseas in late 1944. It arrived in England and France just as the German Army launched its last major offensive in the West: the Battle of the Bulge.
Because of the crisis in the Ardennes, the 75th was rushed into combat sooner than expected. Soldiers like Atchley were thrown directly into some of the harshest winter fighting of the war.
A Few Words From The Generals
From Gen. Delattre de Tassigny, French First Army Commander, came the message:
…I have not allowed you any respite, and night and day have ordered you harshly “en avant!” This had to be done. No task was more imperative nor more lofty than saving Strasbourg and finally, liberating Alsace. You understood this and, covered with mud, numb with cold, exhausted, you found in yourselves the supreme strength necessary to overcome the desperate resistance of the enemy.
Thanks to you, my beloved American comrades, who had brought us your courage and who have spared nothing to help us — neither your arms nor your blood… The German has been driven from the sacred soil of France. He will never return.
Gen. Paul wrote at this time:
Throughout unit training, during our combined training, and finally during combat, let us cherish and keep alive this spark, this 75th’s way of doing things. I give you a battle cry: “Over, Around, Under, or Through””
— Gen Jacob L. Devers Commanding Sixth Army Group
The performance of the 75th Division reflects the highest credit… You can be justly proud of the part played by the Division in… victory.
WWII veteran connects with fellow 2008 Ellis County Honor Flight participant
By CHARITY FITCH charity@waxahachiesun.com Jan 12, 202
World War II veteran Charles Atchley, 96, sat down for coffee at the Waxahachie YMCA and started talking to the man next to him, Dave McSpadden, 79. They soon realized they had both flown on the 2008 Ellis County Honor Flight and planned to wear their Honor Flight jackets together the next time they went to the Y. Honor Flight is a national program that began in 2005 and takes veterans to see their memorial and other monuments in Washington, D.C., free of charge.
In 2008, the first Honor Flight in Ellis County took about 43 veterans to D.C., including Atchley, who served in the 75th and fought in the Battle of the Bulge and the Colmar Pocket in France.
Each veteran was sponsored by somebody or by a business. McSpadden was one of the sponsors of the 2008 Ellis County Honor Flight and traveled as a guardian, meaning he was assigned a veteran to help. He also helped the program in Ellis County with its nonprofit status and helped organize paperwork. He got involved because of his father and because he too was a veteran but not for World War II.
Each veteran was sponsored by somebody or by a business.
McSpadden was one of the sponsors of the 2008 Ellis County Honor Flight and traveled as a guardian, meaning he was assigned a veteran to help. He also helped the program in Ellis County with its nonprofit status and helped organize paperwork. He got involved because of his father and because he too was a veteran but not for World War II.
“I was just a baby when he (Charles) was over there, but my dad was a World War II combat vet,” McSpadden said. McSpadden had hoped to take his dad on the trip, but he lived in San Angelo, Texas, and was too frail to travel. The “life changing” trip, as McSpadden described it, began at the Waxahachie Civic Center, where all the veterans and guardians piled into a bus. With an escort by the Waxahachie Police Department and the Patriots Motorcycle Club, the group traveled to Dallas Love Field Airport, where they flew on Southwest from Dallas to Baltimore, Maryland.
When they landed, McSpadden leaned over to his assigned veteran, who had been a bomber pilot over Germany, and asked if he enjoyed the flight. “Well, this plane is pretty quiet, and nobody was shooting at me, so I guess it was OK,” he said.
As they approached the terminal, two firetrucks from the airport sprayed arcs of water over the plane. When they arrived at their gate, they were asked to wait while everyone else left the plane, so they could leave as a group, McSpadden said. Entering the jet bridge, they could hear “God Bless America,” and there were red, white and blue balloons covering the terminal.
“When we walked in, everybody in the building applauded and cheered for us,” Atchley said.“There were probably four to five hundred people in every place they could stand, applauding these guys as they came off the plane,” McSpadden said. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the area. It was remarkable.””They visited the Pentagon, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, the World War II Memorial and more. McSpadden said they were able to meet “people in high command” at the Pentagon, and they watched a company of Marines do a drill exercise at the Marine memorial.
“It went like that for three straight days of whatever we could do and whatever they could arrange for us when we arrived,” McSpadden said. “It didn’t cost the veterans anything, and it was amazing,” Atchley said of the memorable trip. “They gave us this jacket.”
McSpadden said the most powerful part of the trip was that it gave the veterans “mental and emotional permission to open up” and find peace. “When you carry the burden of an entire war in your heart, it is difficult (to find peace),” he said.
During dinner their first night, the veterans were asked if they would like to share some of their experiences.
“Many of these guys and their generation would come back and never talk about it,” McSpadden said. “This was the first time they ever talked about it. Since they felt they were among their comrades and peers, they opened up about both the good and bad of what they went through in the war. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place.”
‘One of the best’ – Charles Atchley
By DAVE MCSPADDEN Special to the Sun Aug 26, 2024
In World War II, the largest single battle that turned the tide of war in Europe was named the Battle of the Bulge. From Dec. 15, 1944, to the end of January 1945, hundreds of thousands of troops representing the Allies and German forces fought fierce battles against each other before the Allies broke through and pushed into Germany By the end of this historically desperate battle, 81,000 Americans and about 75,000 Germans lost their lives.
It was on April 15, 1943, that a new Army division consisting of 14,000 soldiers named the 75th Infantry Division was formed and began training. They trained hard for more than a year while not knowing what their role in WWII would be. They shipped to England for additional combat training in mid-November 1944. And on New Year’s Eve, 1944, the 75th Infantry Division arrived in the Ardennes Forest to join the Battle of the Bulge. As new replacements to the battle, those who had been in it for the first two weeks called them the “Diaper Division” because they were all so young.
One of the 18-year-old soldiers was infantry rifleman, Waxahachie resident, Private Charles E. Atchley. At 5’-5” and weighing only 105 pounds, Charles was greeted to the “front lines” with the coldest winter in France and Belgium in 50 years.
For 14 straight days of frantic combat, Charles and his brothers-in-arms fought, ate, tried to sleep, and did all the bodily functions you and I do daily while occasionally seeking refuge in snow foxholes with mud and ice at the bottom. The foxholes they dug each day as the fighting moved. While his regiment continued to fight, Charles was forced off the front line when his feet froze. He was shipped to a French hospital in Marseilles, France, for several months while doctors worked to save his feet from amputation.
He was then transferred to a U.S. hospital for many more months of therapy to learn to walk again. As a result of his combat, Charles was awarded two Bronze Stars and the French Legion of Merit for his bravery.
Since WWII, the 75th has gone through numerous changes of missions and assignment activations. But the bonds of those soldiers who have served in the 75th over the remaining decades have endured. One reason is that they have what has become the 75th Division Association, which gathers each year at various locations around the United States, where they share their bonds of friendship and stories. They also strive to include interesting and educational activities for the 75th members to experience at the gatherings each year.
Charles has been a regular attendee at these annual events. Now he is the oldest living member, and the only WWII veteran actively participating in the association meetings. Last year, he participated in the one held in New Orleans and was able to visit the WWII Museum. There he found the maps of the Battle of the Bulge and photos of the conditions he fought in which he fought.
This year he attended the 75th Association reunion in College Station. In addition to catching up with his many 75th friends, he went with the group to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum and toured the Texas A&M Integrated Research Center and the Bush Combat Development Complex at the Rellis Campus of A&M. He learned about the research and development being done there to improve the military’s future combat capabilities.
This was particularly appropriate for the members of the 75th Association, like Charles, because the Department of Defense has designated the 75th as the 75th Innovation Division. The 75th is now one of the Army’s premier technology groups determining future fighting and defense missions, technologies, and innovations. One out of every five soldiers in today’s 75th Innovation Division holds a PhD degree. Charles understands and appreciates the way that his original combat infantry division has evolved into a large group of dedicated soldiers who are operating in the future’s command.
Despite his age of 98 years old, he is looking forward to the next 75th Division Association gathering in Oklahoma City. It is an honor to have this man who represents living history to also be a proud resident of Waxahachie.
Legacy
Charles Atchley’s life reflects the courage, discipline, and devotion that defined America’s Greatest Generation. When World War II erupted, Charles stepped forward with quiet determination, joining Company A of the 75th Infantry Division as a 105mm Howitzer crewman. His skill was unmistakable—he earned the Sharpshooter qualification, a testament to his precision and steady resolve.
In the winter of 1944–45, Charles and the 75th Infantry Division were thrust into the chaos of the Battle of the Bulge, the largest and bloodiest battle fought by American forces in WWII. Facing brutal cold, deep snow, and relentless German attacks, Charles and his artillery crew delivered the firepower that helped hold critical ground. Their howitzers supported infantry units fighting to stop the German advance toward the Meuse River.
Through exhaustion, freezing temperatures, and constant danger, Charles stood firm. His accuracy and discipline under fire helped stabilize collapsing lines and protect American troops during one of the war’s most desperate moments.
No sooner had the Bulge been contained than Charles’s division was rushed south to France to help liberate the last German‑held territory west of the Rhine—the Colmar Pocket. The fighting was fierce, the terrain unforgiving, and the winter unrelenting.
Here, Charles’s artillery skills again proved vital. His howitzer crew supported French and American forces as they pushed through fortified villages, river crossings, and entrenched enemy positions. The liberation of Colmar was a turning point for France, and Charles’s role in that victory was later recognized with the French Legion Medal, one of France’s highest honors.
This award stands as a testament to the courage he displayed and the freedom he helped restore.
When the war ended, Charles returned home not as a man seeking recognition, but as a man eager to build a life rooted in stability, love, and purpose. He became a respected postmaster, serving his community with the same reliability and integrity he had shown in uniform. As a successful businessman, he worked tirelessly to provide for those he loved, building a foundation that would support his family for generations.
To his children and grandchildren, Charles was more than a veteran or a community leader—he was the heart of the family. His stories, his values, and his unwavering love shaped the people they became. His legacy lives on in the traditions he passed down, the lessons he taught, and the pride his family carries in his name.
Today, we honor Charles Atchley as a soldier, a public servant, a businessman, and above all, a family man whose life continues to inspire. His service helped secure freedom abroad, and his love built strength at home. His legacy endures in every life he touched and in every generation that carries his memory forward.