WWII · Battle Death Record
Charles Roan
Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps · Texas
Medal of Honor
Personnel File — Core Information
- Name
- Charles Roan
- Entered the Service From
- Texas
- Rank
- Private First Class
- Service
- U.S. Marine Corps
- Unit / Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division
- War
- WWII
- Date of Death
- September 18, 1944
- Awards
- Medal of Honor, Purple Heart
- Burial / Memorial
- Commemorated on the Tablets of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
- Grave
- Tablets of the Missing
Their story
During the Battle of Peleliu on September 18, 1944, Pfc. Roan was isolated with four fellow Marines when a Japanese grenade was thrown among them; he threw himself upon the grenade, absorbing the blast with his own body and saving the lives of his comrades. He was killed in the explosion and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Compiled from American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) and National Archives (NARA) records and public sources.
This record is one of more than 200,000 in our historical archive. Some information may have been corrupted or lost over decades of data conversion. Corrections are welcome — please contact the archive.