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Charles was born in Chicago on 16 May 1914 to an Army family, the son of Charles and Mabel Graeme Billingslea. His father, an Army surgeon, was killed in World War I. After attending the Army Preparatory School, Fort McPherson, Georgia, Charles entered West Point in 1932. As a cadet he soon developed a reputation as a happy rebel who never shrank from challenging the establishment. He is warmly remembered by his classmates not only for his resemblance to Rudy Valle, but especially for his keen</div>
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sense of humor and for his delightful and easy-going manner.</div>
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Upon graduation in 1936, he was assigned to the 19th Infantry in Hawaii where he also saw temporary duty with the United States Navy. In this capacity he visited and helped confirm the United States claim to the Phoenix Island Group in the Central Pacific. After subsequent assignments with the 30th and 53rd Infantry at the Presidio and at Fort Ord in California, Charles became one of the early graduates of the Parachute School, Fort Benning. Upon graduation he became a company commander in the 502nd Parachute Infantry Battalion. He also served in the 503rd Battalion before being assigned to duty in the United Kingdom. In World War II he participated in the assault landing against Algiers and in airborne operations during the Tunisian Campaign. He was Parachute Brigade executive for the invasion of Sicily, chief of Pathfinders for the Salerno Jump, and executive officer for the 504th Regiment during the Naples, Vol-turno, Cassino, and Anzio Operations.</div>
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Charles commanded the 325th Regiment, Glider Infantry, in combat from Arnhem-Nijmegen in Holland to the Elbe River. From the rank of captain in 1940 he was advanced to colonel in October 1943. Before the end of the war he was twice decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross and was three times awarded the Bronze Star.</div>
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Charles’ post-war career was equally distinguished. He served as chief of staff of the 82nd Airborne Division; on the planning staff of the Army Ground Forces, Fort Monroe; and on the faculty of the Army Command and General Staff College. He was in Korea in 1950 with the Office of Operational Research during which he was involved in the effort to liberate General Dean who was a prisoner of war in North Korea.</div>
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He attended the Army War College in 1952, was chief of Plans at SHAPE Headquarters in Paris, graduated from the Harvard Advanced Management School, and from the National War College. Thereafter he became deputy director, European Region, International Security Affairs, Department of Defense. He also served as chief of staff, Eighth Army, Korea in 1961.</div>
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Charles was a member of the Howze Board at Fort Bragg and then commanded the 2nd Division at Fort Benning, Georgia from 1962-64. After serving as deputy commanding general of the Army Combat Development Command, Charles retired from the Army on 30 June 1966 at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, in the grade of major general. His other decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Master Parachute Badge with Five Combat Stars, and numerous foreign decorations.</div>
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Even in retirement Charles continued as a leader. He took much pleasure in having spearheaded the effort of the Classes of 1935 and 1936 which culminated in the “Soldiers’ Statue” at West Point. As a trustee for the Sheridan School in Washington, DC, he developed a mountain campus for the school. Later, after moving from Georgetown to Oxford, Maryland in 1981, he was president of the Board of the Oxford Museum.</div>
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Charles is survived by his wife of forty years, the former Bettina Louise Hill of Brookline, Massachusetts; a son, Charles IV of Macon, Georgia; and a sister, Mabel Graeme Billingslea Brooks of Santa Rosa, California.</div>
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Charles Billingslea’s contributions to his country were extraordinary, and he is sorely missed by his many friends.</div>
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“He lit so many fires in cold rooms.”</div>
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A. P. Clark</div>
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