This photographic portrait of Charles E. King of Williamstown, Pennsylvania shows the soldier in his World War I uniform.
King served as a cook in Battery D, 311th Field Artillery in the US Army from May 1918 until his discharge in May 1919. He served in Europe from July 31, 1918 to May 1919.
Before and after his military service, King worked as a mineworker at the Williamstown Colliery.
He passed away in 1936 at a veterans hospital in New York at the age of 48. His death came as a result of a lung ailment, no doubt exacerbated by his work in the mines at Williamstown.
His body was brought to Tower City, where he was interred in Greenwood Cemetery.
“His remains were laid away to the sound of distant taps and the firing of a farewell salute,” wrote the West Schuylkill Herald.
Read more World War I stories
“I am more than glad it is over” – A Coal Region soldier’s experience in World War I
Coal Region doctor became a British war hero in March 1918
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