1st Lieutenant
Silver Star, Purple Heart
1st Lt. Charles B. Hinson was born in Black Oak in 1923. He graduated from Jonesboro High School and was a veteran of World War II for 35 months as a dental technician in Europe. After returning home from WWII, Lt. Hinson attended Arkansas State College and graduated as a Distinguished Military Student in the spring of 1948 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, branched Infantry.
Upon commissioning, Lt. Hinson immediately reported for service at Ft. Sill, Okla., followed by training at Ft. Bliss, Texas, where he completed a six-month course in field artillery tactics. Later Lt. Hinson was stationed in Hawaii, deploying to Korea in July 1950 where he served with the famed 5th Infantry Regiment as a member 555th Field Artillery Battalion (triple nickel).
On Aug. 9, 1950, Lt. Hinson was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action and valor in the face of the enemy. His battery took lethal and accurate enemy indirect fire killing all other officers and the first sergeant. Hinson was making a report in the area and immediately took command of the battery. He ordered the displacement of the men and reorganized and restructured the remaining forces so they could continue to fight. The valorous and inspiring leadership and initiative by which he prevented further casualties in the unit reflect his greatness in leadership.
Three days after Lt. Hinson received his Silver Star, he was killed in action while fighting the enemy near Pongam-ni (Bloody Gulch), South Korea, on Aug. 12, 1950. Second Lieutenant Hinson was awarded the Silver Star, the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.
