Alaska Highway. Captain, Company D , H&S and Regimental Commander. Veteran WW2 and Korea
Born: 29 July 1911, Winona, MS. Died: 3 August 1990, Winona, MS. Enlisted: 12 June 1937. Retired: 31 December 1961, highest rank, Colonel.
Charles was a 1929 graduate of Inverness High School and in 1931 graduated from Moorehead Junior College. He graduated with honors from West Point Military College in 1937. Two years later, he received his master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of California.
In May of 1941, Captain Mitchim of the Corps of Engineers was re-assigned from Ft. Belvoir to Camp Blanding. In April and May of 1942, he was Commander of Company D of the segregated 97th Engineer Regiment. They landed in Valdez, Alaska on 29 April 1942. Three feet of snow covered the ground. The 97th built the northern section of the Alaska Highway.
In June of 1942, while in Alaska, he was promoted to Major. From June 1942 to January 1943, he was the 1st Battalion Commander of the 97th Engineers. In January of 1943 he was promoted to Lt. Colonel and became the 97th Regimental Commander.
He was the executive officer of the Alaska District, Corps of Engineers, in Anchorage, Alaska and served on Eisenhower’s staff at Supreme Allied Headquarters in Paris, France.
For his service, he received the Legion of Merit, commendation ribbon with oak leaf cluster, American Defense, American Theatre, European and Asiatic-Pacific ribbons, Victory Medal and General Staff Identification badge.
In 1953, Colonel Mitchim was named Secretary of the Mississippi River Commission and Assistant Division Engineer. In 1959 Colonel Mitchim became the district engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers in Chicago. He served 28 years in the U.S. Army, retiring in 1961 at the rank of Colonel.
In 1964, he graduated from the Los Angeles School of Optometry and began his second career in his private practice as an optometrist. He was a member of the Winona Rotary Club, American Optometric Association, Mississippi Optometric Association and the Mississippi Economic Council.
His parents were Charles Cloud Mitchim (1863-1929) and Letha Lillian Word Mitchim (1912-1999). His first wife was Carmen Demooney of College Park, GA and his second wife was Lucyle O. Mitchim. He had two daughters, Carmen and Rosalie and one son, Charles Amos Mitchim.
Serial #O-020577
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