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Born August 16, 1923 in Claude Texas. Charles
Howard Roan attended local schools, was a member of the Methodist
Church from the age of nine, and worked at a service station after
school and on weekends. He was a United States Marine who
sacrificed his life to save four fellow
Marines in the landing on Peleliu September 18,
1944 during World
War II. For his heroism, he posthumously
received his nation's highest military honor —
the Medal of Honor.
Roan
enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in December 1942. A rifleman in
the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, he was already
a veteran of bitter fighting when he threw himself upon a Japanese
hand grenade in the Peleliu landing, saving four Marines in his unit
at the cost of his own life on September 18, 1944. Prior to his
death, he had been in two previous battles — New Guinea and Cape
Gloucester — and had seen 15 months of overseas duty. In addition to
the Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart, he also held the
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three battle stars.
He is buried in a cemetery outside the city of
Manila, Philippines. A memorial marker in honor of Roan is located
in the Claude Cemetery, Armstrong County, Texas
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