Carol's Chapter · 1931–1986
Charlie's Path from Kansas to a Career of Service
told by Carol Mae Guild Sutton
Carol recounts Charlie's birth in Troy, Kansas, his place as the oldest of six children, and his mother's family connection to Amelia Earhart. After high school, Charlie served four years in the Air Force, including a year in Korea. He then used the GI Bill to earn a geology degree at the University of Kansas and worked twenty-seven years as a Department of Defense ammunition inspector before retiring in 1986.
In the family's own words
Charlie was born April 21, 1931, in Troy, Kansas. He was the oldest of six children. His mother’s maiden name was Grace Earhart. She was a first cousin to Amelia Earhart, the famous woman pilot who disappeared on the last leg of her around-the-world flight in 1937. Charlie’s grandfather and Amelia Earhart’s father were brothers. Charlie graduated from high school in 1949, immediately joined the service, and spent the next four years in the Air Force (one year of which was spent in Korea). Using the GI Bill, he enrolled at the University of Kansas in Lawrence and graduated in 1959 with a degree in geology. He spent twenty-seven years working for the Department of Defense as an ammunition inspector, and retired in 1986.
Referenced in
Carol's Chapter, told by Carol Mae Guild SuttonRelated stories
Family corrections
Notes sent in by the family and approved on review. They sit alongside the original record — the book's wording is never changed.
No corrections on file for this record yet.
Suggest a correction