Charles Joseph Fox was born in New Roads, Louisiana. His father was a levee contractor for the Army Corps of Engineers, so the family moved from place to place. His godfather, Charles "Charlie" McCune, was also an engineer for the Corps, which worked government contracts. Fox finished high school in Saint James Parish, in Romeville, Louisiana. At the time, there were only 11 grades in high school. One of his teachers there was Lindy Claiborne [Annotator's Note: Marie Corinne "Lindy" Morrison Claiborne Boggs, the first woman elected to Congress from Louisiana] who had just recently graduated from Newcomb College [Annotator's Note: H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College in New Orleans, Louisiana]. After graduation, Fox went to work in a sugar mill for a few years, then moved to New Orleans and worked in trucking. His oldest son was born in September 1941, just a few months before the war. His company had a terminal in Leesville, Louisiana, and served Fort Polk [Annotator's Note: near Leesville]. Maneuvers [Annotator's Note: the Louisiana Maneuvers were a series of large-scale Army exercises held in September 1941] were being held at Polk at the time. Fox was delivering bread to to the Fort and was "captured" and held for three days, treated well. Many of the men in the trucking company's management were drafted [Annotator's Note: the draft, also known as conscription, is obligatory military enlistment], so Fox was promoted to a managerial position. Since trucking was a vital industry, he was told he would be kept out of the service, but that was not true. He had to register for the draft like everyone else, and joined the Marine Corps. He was sent to San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California] by train, which took three days. The scenery was beautiful.

Charles Joseph "Charlie" Fox went through boot camp in San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California], and was then sent to motor transport school in Cleveland National Forest north of San Diego, as he had previously worked in trucking [Annotator's Note: out of New Orleans, Louisiana]. They lived in tents in very cold temperatures. Fox had never driven on snow and ice covered roads. From there, he was shipped to Camp Pendleton [Annotator's Note: Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, California] where the 5th Marine Division was being formed. Fox was assigned to the 5th [Annotator's Note: Company H, 2nd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division], and became his company commander's driver. The men were often sent on 26-mile marches and he would occasionally pick up men unable to complete the march. The first man he saw die was from friendly fire [Annotator's Note: fire from one's own side], although it was called a short round at the time. The division trained for about a year at Pendleton before being shipped out to the Pacific. Fox was in the 26th, which was a rifle regiment along with the 27th and 28th [Annotator’s Note: 26th, 27th, and 28th Marine Regiments], and the 13th Marines [Annotator’s Note: 13th Marine Regiment] were artillery. The 26th was sent as backup for the invasion of Saipan [Annotator's Note: the Battle of Saipan, 15 June to 9 July 1944; Saipan, the Northern Mariana Islands] and Tinian [Annotator's Note: the Battle of Tinian, 24 July to 1 August 1944; Tinian, the Northern Mariana Islands], as what was called a bastard regiment, detached from the division. The island was secured before they disembarked and Fox's unit was diverted back to the Hawaiian islands. Troopships were slow and the voyage was long. They continued training at Camp Tarawa, so named because it was built by the 2nd Marine Division after coming off Tarawa [Annotator's Note: the Battle of Tarawa, 20 to 23 November 1943; Tarawa, Gilbert Islands]. They remained there and trained for a long time. The camp was a large ranch, located in the valley between the volcanic mountains Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. The climate was not too bad, and they were given some leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. The Hawaiian locals did not care for the soldiers. The officers often went to a town called Kona, and Fox drove two of them one day. They got drunk, and refused to let Fox drive them back, wanting to drive themselves. Fox's company commander drove and ran them into a wall. The two officers were badly bloodied, but they were not seriously injured. There was a hearing, and Fox took the blame, saying that he was driving and simply lost control. He and the company commander got close after that, as the company commander was appreciative for what Fox did.

Charles Joseph "Charlie" Fox [Annotator's Note: serving with Company H, 2nd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division] took part in amphibious landing training in various places, including Maui [Annotator's Note: Maui, Hawaii]. During one training landing, there was a bad storm with rough winds, everyone in the landing craft got sick. The storm kept the ship from picking them up, so they landed on a beach and stayed there until the following day. By the time they got back to the ship, word had been received that they would be deployed to a combat area. They loaded up at Hilo, Hawaii and joined a task force in Honolulu [Annotator's Note: Honolulu, Hawaii]. No one knew where they were going until after two days at sea, when they learned they would be going to Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Iwo Jima, Japan] which was needed for its landing strips. At the time, B-29s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] were taking off from Saipan, Tinian, and Guam [Annotator's Note: Saipan, Tinian, and Guam in the Mariana Islands] at the time in order to bomb Japan. Leaving from these destinations, the B-29s would run low on fuel or be shot up over Japan and have to ditch into the sea. It is a shame that no one talks about Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima, Japan; 19 February to 26 March 1945] much today, it is like it never happened. It is perhaps more well-known now since a movie [Annotator's Note: probably referring to Flags of our Fathers] was made about Suribachi [Annotator's Note: Mount Suribachi, a terrain feature on Iwo Jima]. There were kamikaze [Annotator's Note: meaning "divine wind", kamikazes were suicide attacks by Japanese pilots against American Navy vessels in the closing months of the war] planes in the sky that sometimes broke through American fire. The troop transports were armed with 40mm guns [Annotator's Note: Bofors 40mm antiaircraft automatic cannon].

Charles Joseph "Charlie" Fox's [Annotator’s Note: serving with Company H, 2nd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division] ship made it to Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima, Japan; 19 February to 26 March 1945]. For days it was just one shell being fired after another, with Navy ships bombing the island to soften it up. The men thought it would only take four or five days to secure the island. There were only around 26,000 Japs [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory term for Japanese] on the island, and the Americans sent in 80,000 men to face them. He heard screams of men hit by mortar or artillery fire. Fox and the rest of the 26th were in reserve, while the 27th and 28th Marines [Annotator's Note: 27th and 28th Marine Regiments, 5th Marine Division] hit below Suribachi. Fox went in on D+1 [Annotator's Note: one day after the day on which an operation or invasion takes effect], and wondered how anyone survived the damage he witnessed. Having been a truck driver [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana before the war], Fox knew that the vehicles would have trouble on the terrain. Even amtracks [Annotator's Note: Landing Vehicle, Tracked or LVT; also referred to as amtrack or alligator] were getting stuck. The first dead Marine Fox saw was an amtrack driver who came in with the first wave. He burned to death, with his hands still on the wheel. There were Higgins boats [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP; also known as the Higgins boat] all around, some turned over. Mount Suribachi reached nearly 500 feet, and could be seen from almost anywhere on the island. The 26th and 27th moved north of it, while the 28th was on it. On D+3 or 4, they lost the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Trotty [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Tom M. Trotti], their executive officer, Major Day [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling; unable to identify], and the sergeant major of the battalion, named Meiur [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling; unable to identify], who had all been in a blackout tent making plans. The Japanese spotters were very skilled, having been on the island practicing for so long. It was on D+5 or 6 when the flag was raised on Suribachi. The island was only about five miles long. He hardly saw any dead Japs, only dead Marines. The Japanese somehow managed to bury their dead, though Fox does not know how. The Japanese were in tunnels and in the ground, which is why it was so difficult to get rid of them. The Americans suffered heavy casualties. He knew most of the men in his company, and every time he saw a man killed, he knew his name or his face. It was a horrifying experience. One of his good friends was named Gunnery Sergeant Carpenter [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling; unable to identify]. By D+10, it was nearly all enlisted men, even privates, running platoons and companies, as most of the officers had been killed or wounded and evacuated. This only added to the confusion. Something most people do not know about war is the smell of dead bodies and rot. They had K rations [Annotator's Note: individual daily combat food ration consisting of three boxed meals] to eat, but no appetite. The men were not in great shape. Several men could not take it [Annotator's Note: mentally], standing up and running when they should not, for example, and were killed. Towards the end of the campaign, Fox does not know why they did not pull everyone back. Tanks were not effective on the terrain, the rain would cause them to slip, and they were easily disabled by the Japanese. Company H, Fox's company, was in an area near a mound when all of the sudden Japs started coming out of the mound, resulting in heavy casualties for the companies in the area. Shortly after, the mound blew up, blowing bodies in the air. Fox could not have imagined being in such a situation, he figured he was going to die. Many of the men at this point were replacements due to high casualties. The Japanese commanding general had committed harakiri [Annotator's Note: hara-kiri, or seppuku, is a form of Japanese ritual suicide initially reserved for the samurai warrior class according to their bushido code of honor]. The island was finally secured after 36 days from the 19th [Annotator's Note: 19 February 1945]. They had air support, although it was too close for comfort. John Basilone [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, Medal of Honor recipient] of the 28th Marines lost his life on Suribachi, and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor [Annotator's Note: the Medal of Honor is the highest award a United States service member can receive who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor]. As a Medal of Honor recipient, Basilone could have been relieved of duty, but chose to stay in. He was a hero. The only other heroes are those who died, you cannot give more than your own life.

Charles Joseph "Charlie" Fox's [Annotator's Note: serving with the Company H, 2nd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division, veteran of the Battle of Iwo Jima, Japan, 19 February to 26 March 1945] was awarded the Bronze Star [Annotator's Note: the Bronze Star Medal is the fourth-highest award a United States service member can receive for a heroic or meritorious deed performed in a conflict with an armed enemy]. A platoon was caught out on the front and was running low on all supplies. Fox volunteered to take a truck loaded with supplies to the front. He was cursed out by fellow soldiers because he was drawing Japanese fire his entire route. He succeeded in unloading the supplies, and made another run at night. After Iwo Jima, Fox's unit returned to Hawaii, with only 20 of the original 240 men in the unit remaining, and the company commander the only surviving officer. Colonel Trotty [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Tom M. Trotti, killed in action during the Battle of Iwo Jima] was a superman. He knew how to talk to the men and they would do anything for him. He treated them roughly, but it was good for them. VE-Day took place in May [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945], then the two bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945] were dropped, the war ended seven or eight days later [Annotator's Note: the Japanese officially surrendered on 2 September 1945]. Fox's unit was brought back up to full strength with replacements, mostly very young guys, and prepared to go to Japan. Fox was an old man at 23 years old. They arrived in Sasebo [Annotator's Note: Sasebo, Japan]. While there, he visited Nagasaki. He remains sorry to this day that he made the trip. He remembers small children, even in diapers, whose noses, ears, and lips were gone due to the flash of the atom bomb. To this day, there are problems with childbearing in the bombed areas. The town was completely leveled, nothing but debris. There was a typhoon coming, so the men went into a tunnel for cover. When they came out, their shelter huts were destroyed. Fox's regiment was sent to Palau [Annotator's Note: an island chain in the western Pacific Ocean] to gather up any remaining Japanese soldiers and repatriate them to Japan. The temperatures often reached 120 degrees by ten o'clock in the morning, it was tough. They lived on C rations [Annotator's Note: prepared and canned wet combat food], bananas, and coconuts. They found an old Jap [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory term for Japanese] in a cave. He could not speak English. There were snail shells everywhere. The interpreter explained that he had been living off eating the snails. Fox returned to the United States and was discharged from Camp Pendleton in San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California] on 31 December 1945. The families of men killed and buried overseas had to pay for the transportation of their family member's remains back to the United States for reburial. Otherwise they would be buried on Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Mariana Islands] or Hawaii. Fox visited Colonel Trotti's and Basilone's [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, Medal of Honor recipient] graves. Today is a different world, and a different war. Fox feels lucky not to be fighting in this war, you cannot tell by looking who is the enemy. We need to get our men out of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Charles Joseph "Charlie" Fox chose the Marine Corps rather than another branch because it was the Japs [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory term for Japanese] who had done us harm, and he knew with the Marine Corps he would end up in the Pacific rather than Europe. He is glad he chose the Corps. He made a lot of friends, some of whom he still keeps in touch with. Before going onto Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima, Japan; 19 February to 26 March 1945], Fox did not think he was going to be a casualty. He was 23 years old, but many of the other Marines were right out of high school. He will never know how the Japs ever let the first wave get off the beach with the volcanic rock. Fox was told by men in the first wave that they did not even see anyone to shoot, they were simply concerned with getting out of range of shots from above. Around D+6 or 7 [Annotator's Note: 6 or 7 days after the day on which an operation or invasion took effect], a replacement got into a foxhole with Fox, not knowing where to report. He was scared. When the replacement changed foxholes during the night, he was blown to pieces by a Japanese bomb, not touching Fox who was only a few feet away. Fox carried an M1 rifle [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also known as the M1 Garand] until he gave it to another man who had lost his, and Fox got a carbine [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic carbine] which was lighter than the M1, and a .45 [Annotator's Note: .45 caliber M1911 semi-automatic pistol] that he kept in a holster. The first time he saw a Jap was around D+6, when a flamethrower [Annotator's Note: ranged incendiary device that projects a controllable jet of fire] was deployed at the entrance of a tunnel, and a Jap came out covered in napalm and died. One night Fox was in a foxhole with a platoon commander armed with a .45, who wanted to kill a Jap. Fox spotted one, and the Marine shot him in the forehead. The bullet left a big hole in the back of his skull. That Marine was killed two days later by a Nambu [Annotator's Note: a Type 96 or Type 11 light machine gun, designed by Kijiro Nambu]. A friend of Fox's and another man went out to get him even though he was clearly dead, and they were shot but not killed, treated by a corpsman [Annotator's Note: enlisted medical specialist in the US Navy who may also serve in the US Marine Corps]. The corpsman were super. Fox's unit [Annotator's Note: Company H, 2nd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division] lost two of them, and a bunch of flamethrower guys. They were especially targeted by the Japanese, as well as radiomen. They were easily spotted with their packs and antennas.

Charles Joseph "Charlie" Fox feels bad about the men he left behind on Iwo [Annotator's Note: Iwo Jima, Japan]. As the commander's driver, he knew most of the men or at least the faces of the men in his unit [Annotator's Note: Company H, 2nd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division]. He dreamed about the war when he first got back to the United States. He had a son who was four years old when the war ended. His wife divorced him. He has been to one 5th Division [Annotator's Note: 5th Marine Division] reunion and saw some men he had not seen since Iwo. Fox had gotten souvenirs in Japan given to him by the Japanese people. Other Marines would go into their homes and take what they wanted, but Fox did not do that. He respected their customs, removing his shoes before entering their homes, and they would show him where they had hidden items. Fox brought the items back with him in his sea bag, but when returning to Hawaii, the men's bags were being inspected and the souvenirs confiscated. Fox's bag fell into the ocean. [Annotator's Note: Fox laughs.] On Iwo, the Japanese wore rubber shoes with bands around the ankles [Annotator’s Note: puttees that provide support]. Every Jap [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory term for Japanese] he ever saw looked like they had not changed clothes for weeks. The Americans were occasionally able to go get clean clothes even while on Iwo.

Charles Joseph Fox has no problem with the Japanese today. His wife's brother married a Japanese woman. Her parents would have disowned her for marrying a non-Japanese man. They had two children. During the war, the Japanese willingness to die for their country was a tremendous thing. Fox wonders why veterans are required to pay to be admitted to the Museum that honors what they did. It is important to continue to study the war, especially the impact of the two bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. Fox does not agree with the current war [Annotator's Note: the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan], as many civilians have been killed. Fox goes to the VA [Annotator's Note: United States Department of Veterans Affairs; also referred to as the Veterans Administration] for health care and they have treated him well. He regrets not taking advantage of going to college when he came back from the war. He finished high school at 15, and felt he was too old at age 24 to catch up.