Highest documented rank: Sergeant
· Last confirmed unit: 1340th AAF Base Unit, India-China Division, Air Transport Command
Army · Service no. 35 048 926
Service Number
35 048 926
Highest documented rank
Sergeant
Last confirmed unit
1340th AAF Base Unit, India-China Division, Air Transport Command
Military job (MOS)
405 — Clerk, Typist
Region and command
China-Burma-India (CBI) — India-China Division, Air Transport Command
This account brings together Charles's surviving World War II
service records and biographical documents. Each entry links to the supporting
scans or clearly labeled extracts included with this timeline. Where records
disagree or leave a gap, the text explains what they establish and what remains unknown.
Map of Service
Documented service locations. Lines connect the places schematically; travel routes and stopovers are unknown.
Service stops
Cleveland, OhioArmy enlistment place, 1943
Chabua, IndiaStation Six, ICW-ATC
Kunming, ChinaStation 13; later 1340th AAF Base Unit
Fort Totten, New Yorkemergency furlough, Nov-Dec 1944
Route notes
1 → 2Documented endpoints; date, ports and route not known
2 → 3Station Six to Station 13; probable Dec 1943 transfer
3 → 4Left Kunming 8 Nov 1944 on emergency furlough; NY 13 Nov 1944
First time here?
How to read this service timeline
This page brings together records created for different purposes. The labels below tell you what kind of evidence supports each entry; open either guide when a record or military term is unfamiliar.
?
Confirmed — Service record
A personal military record supports the entry.
Confirmed — Unit record
A record created by his unit names him or documents the unit’s activity.
Context
Helpful background, clearly separated from personal evidence.
Newly discovered
Information recovered during this research, rather than supplied at the start.
How to read a Morning Report
Morning Reports were daily administrative records prepared by individual Army and Army Air Forces units. They generally recorded changes—such as arrivals, transfers, promotions, illness, or return to duty—not a complete list of everyone present.
MORNING REPORT · SAMPLE
1Organization Company A, 123rd Infantry
2Station or location Camp Example, Virginia
3Date 14 September 1944
4Section Personnel changes
5Pvt Smith, John A., 35123456 6asgd fr Hq Co per SO 187, Hq 123d Inf
In plain English
Private John A. Smith, identified by Army Serial Number 35123456, was assigned to Company A from Headquarters Company under Special Orders No. 187.
1Organization: the company, hospital, squadron, or other unit filing the report.
2Station or location: where that unit reported from on that date.
3Report date: the date of the report, which may differ from the effective date of a change.
4Section: the part of the form containing personnel changes or the unit’s record of events.
5Soldier entry: usually rank, name, and Army Serial Number.
6Change and authority: what happened and the order authorizing it.
asgd
assigned
atchd
attached
trfd
transferred
fr
from
aptd
appointed
EM
enlisted men
SO
Special Orders
GO
General Orders
orgn
organization
sta
station
Common military and research terms
Army Serial Number (ASN)
The unique service number used to distinguish one soldier from others with similar names.
Discharge or separation paper
The document issued when a service member left active service. For many WWII Army enlisted soldiers, this is WD AGO Form 53-55. It summarizes service but is not a day-by-day history.
Morning Report
An Army unit’s daily administrative report. It usually lists people whose status changed, not every person in the unit.
Unit record
A document created by a military organization. It may name the soldier directly or provide context about his unit; the timeline states which applies.
OMPF or “201 file”
The service member’s Official Military Personnel File. Many Army and Air Force files were damaged or destroyed in the 1973 National Personnel Records Center fire.
Unit and final unit
A unit is the organization in which someone served. The final unit is the organization shown at separation; it may not be the only unit in the service history.
Rank or grade
The service member’s level in the military hierarchy. A timeline may show changes in rank over time.
MOS
Military Occupational Specialty—the Army’s classification for a soldier’s primary military job.
Assigned and attached
Assigned means formally placed in a unit. Attached usually means serving with a unit temporarily while belonging administratively elsewhere.
Special Orders and General Orders
Official directives used to authorize personnel actions, awards, organizational changes, and other decisions.
Campaign credit
Official recognition for service connected with a named campaign. It does not, by itself, describe a service member’s individual actions.
Station or location
The place from which a unit filed a report. It does not automatically prove that every member was physically present there.
Source citation
The note beneath a timeline entry identifying the record or records that support it.
Service Timeline
12 min
Confirmed — Record
February 5, 1924
Born in Barnesboro, Pennsylvania
Charles Edward Ertter was born in Barnesboro, Cambria County, Pennsylvania. On his signed June 1942 draft registration, he gave his birth date as February 5, 1924. The later Veterans Administration index records February 7. This account follows the date Charles gave himself; the reason for the two-day difference is unknown.
Charles's June 1942 draft card names Alice J. Ertter of Carrolltown, Pennsylvania as the person who would always know his address. The card preserves his connection to Pennsylvania while he was living in East Cleveland, Ohio.
At age eighteen, Charles registered with Local Board No. 41 in East Cleveland, Ohio. He gave 1310 Coit Avenue as his residence and named Alice J. Ertter of Carrolltown, Pennsylvania, as the person who would always know his address. The registrar described him as about five feet eleven inches tall and 160 pounds, with brown eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion.
Front of Charles's registration card. Its serial and order numbers are Selective Service identifiers, not his Army service number.Registrar's report with his physical description and the June 27, 1942 registration date.
Charles entered the Army in early 1943. His electronic Army enlistment record gives February 17, 1943 at Cleveland, Ohio; the Veterans Administration's later index gives January 17, 1943. Both records identify the start of his service, but they differ by one month. Without his original induction or separation papers, there is no reliable way to explain that difference.
The earliest unit roster included here dates from September 1943. His training station and journey overseas are not identified in the available personal records. The timeline resumes with that roster, which names him and gives his Army service number.
Transferred with the 3rd Transport Squadron to Station Six
An order issued on December 15 records a transfer effective December 1, 1943: personnel of the 3rd, 6th and 13th Transport Squadrons were transferred to Station Six, India-China Wing, Air Transport Command. Charles appears on the accompanying roster under the 3rd Transport Squadron, identified as Private Charles E. Ertter, 35048926. The order page establishes the transfer; the roster page connects Charles to it. A May 1944 Army Air Forces station list identifies Station Six as Chabua, India.
Roll 686, image 2194 — the order and effective date.Roll 686, image 2203 — Ertter's name and service number under the 3rd Transport Squadron. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Station Six's December 22 report records the transfer of Private Ertter to Station 13. It gives no first name or service number. Charles was listed at Station Six earlier that month and appears in a later Station 13 order, so this probably refers to him. The identification is not certain. A May 1944 station list places Station 13 at Kunming, China; the report does not establish when Charles arrived there or how he traveled.
Roll 686, image 2187, December 22 remarks: a surname-only entry for Pvt Ertter, with a December 21 order date. Identification as Charles is probable. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
The India-China Wing, Air Transport Command reported carrying 12,590 net tons to China in December 1943. On December 28, President Roosevelt directed that the wing receive a citation. Charles's December roster places him within the wing during this period. This is unit history. No individual award or ribbon entitlement for Charles is established by the records in this timeline.
On June 23, Station 13 ordered Private Charles E. Ertter, 35048926 to a rest camp for seven days beginning June 25, with return travel directed for July 2. Station 13 was the Air Transport Command station at Kunming, China. The two pages below are copies of the same order, not separate periods of leave. The order establishes the planned rest period; the available records do not confirm his actual travel dates.
Roll 407, image 1139 — Special Orders No. 11 names Ertter and orders seven days at the Rest Camp. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.Roll 323, image 312 — a second extract copy of the same order. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
An August 1 headquarters order lists Private Charles E. Ertter, 35048926 with the 1340th Army Air Forces Base Unit. This was the unit designation that replaced Station 13 at Kunming. The change in the unit's name does not, by itself, mean that Charles moved to another base. The four scans below are surviving copies of the same roster page, not four separate assignments.
Roll 414, image 629 — the August 1 roster of Headquarters, 1340th AAF Base Unit. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.Roll 414, image 575 — another surviving copy of the same August 1 order, page 12. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.Roll 414, image 591 — another surviving copy of the same August 1 order, page 12. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.Roll 414, image 611 — another surviving copy of the same August 1 order, page 12. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
At Kunming, China, the 1340th Army Air Forces Base Unit changed Charles's recorded job from Clerk, Non-typist to Clerk, Typist. The Army called this job classification a military occupational specialty, or MOS: his code changed from 055 to 405. The report establishes the change in his assigned specialty; it does not describe his day-to-day duties.
Roll 414, image 657 — the 1340th AAF Base Unit report at Kunming records Ertter's MOS change. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
A promotion roster lists Charles E. Ertter, 35048926, present grade Private, promoted to Private First Class. The surviving page does not show the order date.
Roll 414, image 675 — promotion roster, first copy. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.Roll 414, image 678 — duplicate copy. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
A promotion roster lists Charles E. Ertter, 35048926, Air Corps, present grade Private First Class, promoted to Corporal. The surviving page does not show the order date.
Roll 347, image 1730 — promotion roster, first copy. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.Roll 347, image 1733 — duplicate copy. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
The unit's November 8 report at Kunming records Corporal Charles E. Ertter, 35048926 leaving for a 30-day emergency furlough to his home in the United States, with additional time allowed for travel. A furlough was authorized leave from duty. The report does not give the reason for the emergency.
Roll 730, image 1782 — the November 8 Kunming report records the emergency furlough. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
By November 13, Charles was recorded at Fort Totten, New York, with Headquarters, 1378th Army Air Forces Base Unit, North Atlantic Division, Air Transport Command. He was listed as a Corporal and clerk-typist, temporarily attached for administration rather than assigned a new permanent unit. The next day's correction report repeats his name and service number.
Roll 101, image 2613 — Ertter at Fort Totten on November 13. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.Roll 101, image 2637 — the November 14 correction entry. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Fort Totten's December 15 report again lists Charles attached for processing. It identifies his parent headquarters as India-China Division, 1300th Army Air Forces Base Unit, based at Calcutta. That headquarters reference is an administrative connection; it does not establish that Charles personally served at Calcutta.
Roll 89, image 609 — attached at Fort Totten for processing. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
The 1340th Base Unit's December 16 report records Charles E. Ertter, 35048926 promoted to Sergeant while on furlough. The Fort Totten report of December 21 still calls him a Corporal. The surviving records do not explain this difference. Sergeant is his highest documented rank; his rank at discharge remains unknown.
Roll 608, image 2455 — the 1340th AAF Base Unit report records his promotion to Sergeant. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Released from his temporary attachment at Fort Totten
On December 21, Fort Totten released Charles from his temporary attachment and returned him administratively to the Air Transport Command's India-China Division. This ended Fort Totten's temporary responsibility for him. It does not establish a flight, ship, route, arrival date or subsequent duty station.
Roll 89, image 650 — released from Fort Totten attachment and returned administratively to ATC India-China. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Charles's Veterans Administration record gives October 17, 1945 as his release date. The personal unit records traced here end in December 1944, leaving his 1945 station and movements unknown. The division's Hump Express newspaper still places the 1340th at Kunming in August 1945, but it does not place Charles there.
The Veterans Administration's electronic service index records October 17, 1945 as Charles's release from active service. This is an index entry, not his separation certificate. The available records do not establish his separation center, final unit or rank at discharge, or his individual campaign and award entitlements.
Later records place Charles in Carrolltown, Cambria County, Pennsylvania. His obituary is indexed there in the February 9, 1998 Tribune-Democrat. The county veterans' grave index lists him as an Army Sergeant buried at St. Benedict's Cemetery in Carrolltown. These records do not establish when he settled there after the war.
