serviceyears branch death_place death_date birth_place allegiance unit awards placeofburial_label battles birth_date placeofburial nickname rank image article_title name
1946 - 1951 united states army near chipo-ri , korea june 2 , 1951 -lrb- aged 21 -rrb- east gulf , west virginia , united states united states of america 24th infantry regiment , 25th infantry division medal of honor place of burial korean war july 24 , 1929 arlington national cemetery , arlington , virginia united states `` connie '' sergeant cornelius charlton.jpg cornelius h. charlton
 cornelius h. charlton
cornelius h. charlton

cornelius h. charlton -lrb- july 24 , 1929 -- june 2 , 1951 -rrb- was a soldier in the united states army during the korean war .
sergeant charlton posthumously received the medal of honor for his actions near chipo-ri , south korea on june 2 , 1951 .
born to a coal mining family in west virginia in 1929 , charlton moved to the bronx in new york city during world war ii .
enlisting out of high school in 1946 , charlton served first in occupied germany , then occupied japan in administrative duties before requesting transfer to the front .
an african american , charlton was transferred to the segregated 24th infantry regiment , 25th infantry division fighting in the korean war .
during a battle for hill 543 near the village of chipo-ri , charlton took command of his platoon after its commanding officer was injured , leading it on three successive assaults of the hill .
charlton continued to lead the attack despite mortal wounds until chinese troops occupying it were destroyed , saving his platoon .
for these actions , charlton was awarded the medal .
in the following years , charlton was honored numerous times , but was controversially not given a spot in arlington national cemetery , which his family claimed was due to racial discrimination .
the controversy attracted national attention before charlton was finally reburied in arlington in 2008 .
