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Remember...Charles Frederick Armentrout
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U.S. Army Sergeant Charles Frederick Armentrout was born on February 24, 1945, the son of Clyde and Rispa Mullenax Armentrout. The document U.S. Vietnam Military Casualties, 1956-1998, lists his "home city" as Baltimore, Maryland, but the West Virginia Register of Births indicates he was born in the community of Kline in Pendleton County. Charles had five siblings: sisters Bonnie (married name: Tulin) and Linda (married name: Hoover) and brothers Robert G., Clyde Douglas, and Larry K.
Army documents list Charles Frederick as being of the Methodist faith. He also had a son, Charles Edward Armentrout.
Inducted into the Army on February 24, 1969, Sgt. Armentrout received his basic training at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. He was assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Command, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was deployed to Vietnam in July of 1969, where he served until being transferred to Cambodia the first week of May 1970.
On May 22, Charles was at an artillery firing position when the area came under attack. He suffered multiple fragmentation wounds during ground combat, which resulted in his death. A telegram sent by Army Major General Kenneth G. Wickham to Charles Armentrout's son reads as follows:
The Secretary of the Army has asked me to express his regrets that your father, Sgt. Charles F. Armentrout, was killed in action in Cambodia on May 22, 1970. He was at an artillery firing position when the area came under attack by a hostile force. Please accept my deepest sympathy. This confirms personal notification made by a representative of the Secretary of the Army. (Source: "County Man Killed in Cambodia," The Pendleton Times, n.d.)
Sadly, according to the Pendleton Times article, he had just written a letter to his son telling him that he was planning to take him fishing when he got home.
For his service in Viet Nam he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, a Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, and the Vietnamese Campaign Medal with 60 Device.
| Sgt. Charles Frederick Armentrout was laid to rest in the Kline Cemetery in Pendleton County, West Virginia. He is also listed on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall, at Panel 10W, Line 78. |  Gravestone for Charles F. Armentrout in Kline Cemetery. |
Photo of Charles F. Armentrout posted under "Charles Frederick Armentrout" by "richard kimble," Find A Grave, accessed 9 June 2014, http://www.findagrave.com, used with permission.
Gravestone photo posted under "Charles Frederick Armentrout" by "Jdrhook," Find A Grave, accessed 9 June 2014, http://www.findagrave.com, used with permission.
Article prepared by Leon Armentrout.
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
