WASHINGTON — Charles Coolidge, who was awarded the U.S. Medal of Honor for leading an outmanned platoon against German troops and tanks in eastern France in 1944, died earlier this week at 99, according to the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center.
Coolidge, the oldest-living recipient of the highest U.S. war honor, died “peacefully” in Chattanooga, Tennessee, near his birthplace of Signal Mountain, on April 6, the Heritage Center said.
During World War II Coolidge fought in North Africa and then Italy, where, in mid-1944 as part of the 36thInfantry Division, he won the Silver Star, the second-highest commendation, in the fight to capture Rome from the German army …
Keep on reading: Oldest US Medal of Honor holder dies; braved heavy fire in WWII