Pfc. Charles Joseph Bierbrodt was born on November 11, 1917, in Crowburg, Kansas, to Joseph Bierbrodt and Joyce Russell-Bierbrodt and had a sister and brother. His family lived at 13 10 North Eighteenth Avenue, Melrose Park, Illinois. He went to school in Melrose Park and then attended Proviso Township High School as a member of the Class of 1935, but he left before his class graduated. He went to work as a florist at Amblings Flowers in Melrose Park. At some point his parents moved to Joplin, Missouri, and Charles lived on his own at 1018 North 12th Avenue, Melrose Park.
When the Selective Service Act became law on October 16, 1940, he registered for the draft and named his mother as his contact person. Charles was inducted into the US Army in Chicago, Illinois, on April 18, 1941. It is not known where he did his basic training, but is known he was assigned to Company E, 132nd Infantry Regiment which was part of the Illinois National Guard’s 33rd Infantry Division. On January 14, 1942, his unit was separated from the 33rd and made part of Task Force 6814 which was made up units being sent to Australia to defend it against a possible Japanese invasion. The task force sailed for Australia, from New York, on January 20, 1942, and arrived there on February 27th.
His unit spent nine months in Australia before being sent to Guadalcanal arriving on December 8th four months after it had been invaded on by American Forces. The unit was held in reserve before being sent to the front where it took part on the attack on Mount Austen on December 17th. On December 17th the unit was engaged in heavy combat at the Gifu Strongpoint. This battle raged on and it was on January 2, 1943, Charles was hit by machine gun fire and killed. Records state he was in shock and hemorrhaging when he died. Charles was buried, in a shelter half, but it is not known where he was buried. His remains were moved, on March 8, 1943 to the Guadalcanal Army, Navy, Marine Cemetery #2 on the island in Plot A, Row 39, Grave 5. It is not known when his parents learned of his death.
After the war, on October 18, 1946, his parents received a letter from the Office of the Quartermaster General telling them where Charles was buried and the location of his grave in the cemetery. The letter also stated that the War Department had been granted permission to rebury the dead in a US Military Cemetery or where the parents requested burial, but information on how to do this would be in another letter. That letter, dated June 26, 1947, arrived and his parents were asked to fill-out and return a form indicating where they wanted Charles buried. As it turned out, his parents had moved. Once contact was reestablished, the same form was sent to his father. The burial form was returned to the OQMG on April 5, 1948, indicating his father wanted Charles remains buried in an American Military Cemetery.
Pfc. Charles J. Bierbrodt was buried, with full military honors, at the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii, on February 28, 1949, in Section N, Grave 533.
Pfc Charles J. Bierbrodt, ASN 36 027 176
Section N, Grave 533
Headstone: Cross
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
Territory of Hawaii
Mr. Joe Bierbrodt
2414 West Fourth
Joplin, Missouri
Dear Mr. Bierbrodt:
This is to inform you that the remains of your beloved ones have been permanently interred, as the recorded above, side by side with comrades who also gave their lives for their country. Customary military funeral services were conducted over the grave at the time of burial.
After the Department of the Army has completed all final interments, the cemetery will be transferred, as authorized by the Congress, to the care and supervision of the American Battle Monuments Commission. The commission will have the responsibility for permanent construction and beautification of the cemetery, including erection of the permanent headstone. The headstone will be inscribe with the name exactly recorded above, the rank or rating where appropriate, organization, State, and date of death. Any inquiries relative to the type of headstone or the spelling of the name to be inscribed thereon, should be addressed to the American Battle Monuments Commission, Washington D. C. Your letter should include the full name, rank, serial number, grave location, and name of cemetery.
While interments are in progress, the cemetery will not be open to visitors. You may rest assured that the final interment was conducted with fitting dignity and solemnity and that the grave-site will be carefully and conscientiously maintained in perpetuity by the United States Government.
Sincerely yours,
(signed)
H. FELDMAN
Major General
The Quartermaster General
Today, Pfc. Charles J. Bierbrodt lies in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, in Plot N, Row 0, Grave 533. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
