Charles was 27 years old and still living in Barberton, OH when he married Margaret Elizabeth Moinet on June 26, 1943 at St. Joseph's church in Alliance, PA. Elizabeth was the daughter of John and Mary Maloney Moinet.
They had a daughter, Susan Marie, born Oct 2, 1944. Susan was not yet 5 months old when Charles enlisted in the Navy.
Before entering service, Charles was a welder at Babcock & Wilcox Co., Barberton, OH.
Charles enlisted in the Navy on Feb 17, 1945 at Cleveland, OH. On Feb 24, 1945, he arrived as a AS (Apprentice Seaman) at Naval Training Station, Great Lakes, IL.
While still at Great Lakes, he was advanced to F2c (Fireman 2nd class) on April 17, 1945. He was transferred on April 28th to the receiving station at Shoemaker, CA. He arrived on May 2nd.
He did not have long to wait until he received his first duty assignment. He was transferred to USS Indianapolis CA-35 on May 12, 1945 and went aboard that day. He was assigned duties in the machine shop.
Indianapolis was undergoing repairs at Mare Island, Vallejo, CA, when Charles went aboard. He was likely grant furlough before the repairs were completed.
On July 16, 1945, Indy left port for a top-secret delivery to the island of Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands. No one on board knew the contents of their cargo, so in addition to being a mystery mission it was Charles' first trip to sea. He could never have imagined it would be his last and that he would never see his daughter, Susan Marie, again.
After the delivery, Indianapolis departed Tinian and after a short stop at Apra Harbor, Guam, she sailed on to Leyte, her final destination. Half-way there, on July 30, 1945, Indy was struck by two torpedoes from Japanese submarine I-58 and sank in 12 minutes. Whether Charles made it off the ship and into the water is not known.
Charles was awarded the Purple Heart, posthumously. His name is inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing in the Manila American Cemetery, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Philippines.
Note: Charles' date of birth is incorrectly shown as Dec 3, 1917 in online records.
Source:
PA, Westmoreland Co., Jeanette, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Birth Certificate #209948, Register #511.; citing birth of Charles Jacob Antonie on Dec 3, 1915 to Jacob and Edith Horn Antonie.
OH, Summit Co., Probate Court, Marriage Record, Vol. 22, Page 336; citing marriage of Charles J. Antonie & Margaret E. Moinet
OH, Summit Co., Probate Court, Marriage Record, Vol 249, Page 12685; citing marriage of Susan Marie Antonie Cain, b. Oct 2, 1944.
Navy Department, Casualty Section, Office of Public Information (1946): Combat Connected Naval Casualties, WWII, by States; Vol. MT-WY; OH, page 7; citing wife Margaret Elizabeth Antonie.
The Akron Beacon Journal, (OH), Thur, Nov 1, 1945, p. 12; citing KIA.
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