Charles A. Waller was born in August 1925 in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in the suburb of West Roxbury. He was one of five children. He attended an all-boys school into his senior year. He spoke about how his friend went roller skating to meet girls. He met a girl, and she told him to call her on the phone, which he did. Waller worked as an usher in a theater. He was unaware of the hostilities in Asia and Europe. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], Waller’s father gathered the family around the radio to listen to the news coverage and to hear Roosevelt’s declaration of war.

At the time war broke out, Charles A. Waller was working as an usher at a nearby movie theater and followed the course of war by viewing newsreel footage daily. Footage of the Marines on Wake Island [Annotator’s Note: the Battle of Wake Island, 8 to 23 December 1941, attacked by the Japanese on the same day that they attacked Pearl Harbor] influenced his decision to join the Marine Corps in early 1943. At first, he had a problem with his weight and age and he was not sure if the Marines were going to accept him. He was the only one of his friends to be selected for service with the Marines. He had to get his parents’ permission to join. His friends were all placed in the Navy and killed during the war.

In July 1943, Charles A. Waller joined the Marine Corps and went to boot camp. Waller was made a squad leader in because of his experience in military drilling which he learned in high school. He trained in World War 1 uniforms and with World War 1 weapons while in high school. He also scored as an expert at the shooting range. He was given the rank of PFC [Annotator’s Note: private first class] at graduation. He scored high on his exam, and upon graduation, he was classified as an aircraft mechanic and sent to Memphis, Tennessee to learn to repair aircraft engines. He trained on old and outdated planes and parts. He was assigned to an airfield in El Toro, California where he repaired SBDs [Annotator’s Note: Douglas SBD Dauntless]. He returned to Memphis to receive more education on newer plane models. He ended up being attached to a group of Marines that had just returned from the Battle of Guadalcanal [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal, codenamed Operation Watchtower; 7 August 1942 to 9 February 1943; Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands]. He was then forced to stay in a sleeper car by himself while the veteran Marines went on leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] for a couple of days. He soon received orders to report to San Diego [Annotator’s Note: San Diego, California] to go overseas in late 1943.

In late 1943, Charles A. Waller boarded a ship from San Diego [Annotator’s Note: San Diego, California] with 800 other Marine replacements. It took 30 days to arrive at Guadalcanal [Annotator’s Note: Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands]. He was then taken to the Russell Islands [Annotator’s Note: Russell Islands, Solomon Islands] and stayed there for about two weeks. He was then sent to Munda in the Solomon Islands and was assigned to Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241 (VMSB-241). He was later assigned to Bougainville [Annotator’s Note: Bougainville, Solomon Islands]. During his time on Munda and Bougainville, he never worked on planes. He received letters and a picture of a girl he met before he signed up for the Marines.

Charles A. Waller [Annotator’s Note: assigned to Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241 (VMSB-241)] was stationed at Bougainville [Annotator’s Note: Bougainville, Solomon Islands]. He was unfamiliar with many people in his outfit. He received orders to bring his squad down to the airfield to dismantle his tent. When he went down to the airfield, everyone in his unit was gone. He was given orders to report to the beach the next day where Waller and his squad boarded a cargo ship. His squad was assigned to an area in the hole of the ship where they had to build their beds with two by fours, while Waller was assigned to sleep in a jeep on the deck. The ship reached Hollandia, New Guinea, but they were not allowed to go ashore. They then headed for Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines. He did not go ashore until four days after the Army invaded the beaches [Annotator’s Note: the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf, 6 to 9 January 1945]. While he was in Bougainville, he received pictures from a photographer of his unit and carried the photographs through the rest of the war and never turned them into his superior.

Charles A. Waller [Annotator’s Note: assigned to the Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241 (VMSB-241)] had his first combat experience while he was stationed at Munda [Annotator’s Note: Munda, Solomon Islands]. He was on patrol at night. It was his second night on the island, and he heard a noise. He asked who was there. A native with the British Coastal Watch came out of the woods. He told Waller that he wanted to see the commanding officer. After sending word that the native wanted to see the commanding officer, he waited until someone gave him the okay to allow him through. While in Bougainville [Annotator’s Note: Bougainville, Solomon Islands], Waller had similar incidents like the one in Munda. His outfit then transferred to the Northern Philippine Islands and went ashore near Lingayen Gulf. He was concussed during a Japanese artillery strike and hospitalized for several weeks. Waller also contracted malaria [Annotator's Note: disease caused by a parasite that commonly infects a certain type of mosquito which feeds on humans] while he was in New Guinea.

Charles A. Waller [Annotator’s Note: assigned to the Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241 (VMSB-241)] returned to his unit after several weeks in the hospital while in the Philippines. While on guard duty there, Waller had a run-in with General MacArthur [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area]. The General’s car came up to the gate, and Waller insisted that everyone in the car show their identification. His outfit was transferred to the southern Philippines to help the Army for the next three months. The war ended while he was in the Philippines. The Marines asked for volunteers to go to China, but no one wanted to go. Everyone wanted to go home. Waller boarded a transport ship with Army troops and civilians. His ship reached San Francisco Harbor [Annotator’s Note: San Francisco, California] and then stopped. The ship had to wait for the next day to pull into the shore. His ship was met with music and celebration from the civilians. He was transferred to a shipyard until he boarded a train to San Diego [Annotator’s Note: San Diego, California]. He was given a 30-day liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time].

After the war ended, Charles A. Waller returned to the United States and was given a 30-day leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] to go home. When Waller returned home, his reunion with his family was uneventful and a little disappointing. His sister did not even give him a welcome home hug. Waller then decided to go visit a girl that he was talking to before he left for overseas. When he reunited with her, she gave him a big hug and a happy welcome home. He and the girl married, and it lasted 71 years. After the 30-day leave, he had to report to base for discharge. He was discharged from the Marines, but joined the reserves soon after because he would receive payment for attending two meetings a month. He was promoted to sergeant. Waller went to aircraft school and received a license in aircraft repair. Waller was then promoted to staff sergeant after graduating from school. He was called into active service during the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953] and served aboard four different aircraft carriers.

Charles A. Waller was called back to active service during the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953] and served aboard four different aircraft carriers. He enjoyed his time in service during Korea, and liked serving on aircraft carriers. During the Vietnam War [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War, or Second Indochina War, 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975] he was stationed in Da Nang [Annotator’s Note: Da Nang, Vietnam] with a group repair wing and promoted to chief warrant officer. He retired in 1974 with that rank. He talks in detail about being promoted to class E8 [Annotator’s Note: signifying a certain paygrade in the military] and working with his superiors. He could not be a lieutenant because he was told he was too old.

Charles A. Waller’s most memorable experience of World War 2 was his interaction with General MacArthur [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area]. He served in the Marine Corps because he did not want to serve in the Army. He never called any of his comrades by their real name. All of them had nicknames for one another. He felt lonely during his service in World War 2. He felt that he lost his identity until he returned to the United States. His wife helped him assimilate back into civilian life after World War 2. One time he was kicked out of a hotel for being in the Marines while he was serving in Vietnam. Waller talked about teaching a young lady how to speak English. He had other stories about the local population while he was serving in the Marines.

Charles A. Waller believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations. He also believes that every person that served in the war, whether he or she was a combat soldier or non-combat soldier, played a significant role. He has great respect for all those people who served in any capacity. He was married to his wife for 71 years, and they had three sons.