I’m back with another “history stuff” blog entry that I got from Life Magazine. The issues I possess are a treasure trove of Americana (late 1930’s) through the war years when Life was fully dedicated to the war effort.
The US military drafted 3,033,361 men in 1942. In 1943 slightly more were drafted but 1942-43 were the peak years for the draft. From 1940 when the US was gearing up for the war until the end of the war in 1945 over 10,000,000 men would be drafted. Private Charles E. Teed was drafted in early 1942 and the March 16th, 1942 issue of Life Magazine did a substantial feature on Teed calling him a typical US soldier.
I have the issue and I read the article. My first thought after reading the article was whether or not Private Charles E. Teed survived the war.
Turns out he did. This is what I found out via the INET.
The Effingham County Courthouse Museum published this piece on FaceBook in 2015.
Charles E. Teed . . . . Army . . . . WWII
Charles E. Teed was born May 24, 1919 the only child of Ralph and Violet (Cramer) Teed. He attended the local schools. Charles later opened a small cafe in Effingham.
He was drafted into the Army in 1942. Shortly before he shipped overseas he won $200 shooting craps and was able to send for his fiancee Violet Kincaid and marry her before he headed to the European Theater.
Charles Teed was selected by Life magazine to be featured as the Private representing the best the Army had to offer. His journey led him from Effingham to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Casablanca, Sicily, Utah Beach, St. Lo, and finally back to Effingham after 5 years.
He was wounded twice. The first time was shrapnel in his leg, but the second time he was wounded happened outside of St. Lo when a bullet shattered his arm and lung. Sgt. Teed drug himself over to an orchard. As he looked up at the sky and clouds he thought that would be the last thing he saw. Luckily he was finally found by his platoon guide and shipped to a hospital.
Sgt. Charles E. Teed received 2 Purple Hearts, and 5 Battle Stars and rose to the rank of Sergeant. Life magazine featured him in 3 different issues including one 25 years later where Life magazine took Charles and Vi on a journey retracing his movements through his five years in the Army during WWII.
After he was discharged from the Army, Charles came back to Effingham where he and Vi raised their family. He eventually opened a TV repair shop at his home on Kentucky Street. He later worked at Crossroads Press.
Charles E. Teed died on April 3, 1985 and is buried at Oakridge Cemetery in Effingham, Illinois. Source Effingham County Courthouse Museum
Teed is the second soldier in the foreground with his helmet at the “jaunty” angle. The caption says that Teed is the backbone of our fighting forces. Teed was trained as infantry. Infantry units took the highest proportion of casualties and by late 1944 most US battalions had shortages of trained riflemen. The infantry were the backbone. The helmets are of the WW1 pattern. They resemble the British model but are not quite the same. American and British helmets of the design look like upside down soup bowls. The American version would be replaced entirely by 1943 with a new model that lasted until the late 1980’s. (Some of the soldiers in the column are wearing “overseas” caps. I wonder if there was a helmet shortage.
It was interesting to me that Teed is cleaning a M1 Garand-a superb weapon that featured a eight round clip, a major improvement over the bolt action Springfields that many American soldiers were still using in March, 1942.
The caption reads Teed on KP (kitchen police) duty (left). Perhaps Teed is eating some of the food he had a hand in preparing (right). The American Army in WW2 was the best equipped and best supplied of all the belligerents.
Teed’s soon to be wife Violet Kincaid looks down the barrel of an obsolete 75mm artillery piece that dates back to WW1. The gun is of French design. I’m not sure the American Army used these old pieces in WW2 but many other nations did. (The army did have a 75mm artillery piece but it was an improvement over the WW1 model and did look like the piece in the picture.)
The caption identifies the soldiers as belonging to the 9th Infantry Division. As noted above the 9th ID was already a veteran division having served in North Africa and Sicily. The 9th has an excellent website that can accessed. (9th Infantry Division)
Teed’s mom with her son’s picture to her right at the restaurant they started with the money they received after Teed’s father was killed in an accident. Notice the slight smile on Mrs. Teed’s face. Like most moms of the period she would be proud of her son but also worried. I suspect she may have been uncomfortable posing. A mother who lost her son in battle was called a Gold Star Mother. A little flag with a gold star was put up in a front window of an apartment or house to give notice that a mom was grieving and that her son had been killed. Over 400,00 gold stars were awarded in WW2 to American moms. Teed made it home as noted above.
History and Hobbies 
You have some terrific treasures here! It introduced the US soldier back then and now it probably re-introduces WWII to the younger generation. In school history classes you have dates and statistics, but here you get personal.
Your own blog has influenced me in that personal way. Thank you for your encouragment.
I’m honored to hear you say that.
I am close friends with Teed’s Grandson. He knows some but actually reached out to me to look into it more… This is a nice tribute… I’ll share with him…
I had no idea 10 MILLION American soldiers were drafted for WWII. Very interesting article.
Thanks Linda. The draft lasted in some form into the 70’s. For all the negatives associated with the draft I think it gave young men a measure of discipline they might not otherwise would have had. Thanks for stopping by and the comment.
Wow I bet that’s amazing going back through all those Life Magazines you have. What a neat tribute also to the every day soldier. Teed’s story is such a great reminder that it was just regular people who went over there and made it through all that, not to mention the ones that didn’t come back. The greatest generation indeed. Thanks for sharing!
Over the years my blog has changed somewhat. The personal angle has become more important than battles, statistics, technology and so forth. Going through the Life Magazines take me back to my parents time as they were coming of age. I get an opportunity to view their world through Life Magazine. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment.
That’s my great grandfather.
I too have the March 16, 1942 issue of Life (and many other old issues). Nice job. I was born in 1946, my father in 1918. LIFE often called “the picture magazine” but a heck of a lot more than that. Many words, especially in the older issues.
Thanks for stopping by and making a comment Fred. Life was truly a treasure in the variety it provided. It was the golden age of magazines.
Thank you for writing this article about Charles Teed. My husband is his grandson, his mother is Charles’ and Violet’s daughter. Charles has 3 great grandchild whom he never got to meet, and unfortunately I never met him either. My and husband and I have a son (13) and a daughter (11). And his brother has a son (10). But I did know Violet. She was a strong, beautiful women, sophisticated but warm. Violet had a glorious smile and a sweet, merry laugh. She was very poised and always well dressed, and she often wore beautiful scarves to accessorize her outfits. My daughter wore several of her scarves this Halloween as part of her costume.
We do several copies of the magazine, as well as an album from Life filled with orignal photographs, many of which were not included in the magazines.
Like you, I am so grateful for the sacrifices these soldiers and their families made in WWII, and we will forever be in debt for their service. Thank you for honoring them.
Thank you for writing this article about Charles Teed. My husband is his grandson, his mother is Charles’ and Violet’s daughter. Charles has 3 great grandchild whom he never got to meet, and unfortunately I never met him either. My and husband and I have a son (13) and a daughter (11). And his brother has a son (10). But I did know Violet. She was a strong, beautiful women, sophisticated but warm. Violet had a glorious, smile and a sweet, merry laugh. She was very poised and always well dressed, and she often wore beautiful scarves to accessorize her outfits. My daughter wore several of her scarves this Halloween as part of her costume.
We do have several copies of the magazine, as well as an album from Life, filled with orignal photographs, many of which were not included in the magazines.
Like you, I am so grateful for the sacrifices these soldiers and their families made in WWII, and we will forever be in debt for their service. Thank you for honoring them.
Sorry for the delay but somehow your message fell between the cracks. That particular Life Magazine is one of my favorites in my collection because of your husband’s g’pa and g’ma. They were so representative of our greatest generation. Thanks for your comment and I apologize for somehow missing it.