U.S. Burial Flag for Sergeant Cornelius H. Charlton
date: label: Date
content: 2008
name: label: Created by
content: Unidentified
label: Subject of
content: Sergeant Cornelius H. Charlton, American, 1929 - 1951
label: Received by
content: Fairy Mae Penn Papadopoulus, American, died 2010
label: Used by
content: United States Army, American, founded 1775
notes: label: Caption
content: This American flag was draped over the coffin of Sgt. Cornelius H. Charlton during his reburial ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in 2008.
label: Caption
content: Sergeant Charlton served in C Company, 24th Infantry Regiment, during the Korean War. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for actions on June 2, 1951, near Chipo-ri, Korea. After his wounded platoon leader was evacuated during an attack to capture Hill 543, Charlton "rallied the men" and led them on three separate assaults. During the first assault, he eliminated two enemy positions, killing six. Although seriously wounded in the next two assaults, Charlton conducted a fourth assault alone. He was wounded again by a grenade but silenced the enemy guns before he died.
label: Description
content: Ceremonial United States burial flag presented to Sergeant Cornelius H. Charlton's sister, Fairy Mae Papadopoulus, upon his reburial at Arlington National Cemetery on November 12, 2008. Flag has been folded thirteen times into a triangle with the field of stars visible. Border stitching done with blue thread.
place: label: Place used
content: Arlington County, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Funeral customs and rites
label: Topic
content: Korean War, 1950-1953
label: Topic
content: Military
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Collection title
content: Sergeant Cornelius H. Charlton Collection
label: Classification
content: Textiles and Quilts
label: Classification
content: Sacred and Ceremonial Objects
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of George "Everett" Penn, Jr.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2015.193.1
objectType: label: Type
content: funeral palls
label: Type
content: flags
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No Known Copyright Restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: cotton (textile)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (folded): 10 7/8 × 22 1/2 × 3 1/8 in. (27.6 × 57.2 × 7.9 cm)