Collection Title: Charles Earl Fortson Diary
Series Number: MS10-74
Processed and Cataloged by: Processed by Dieter C. Ullrich on July 19, 2010.
Date Listed: July 19, 2010
Date Span: 1943-1945
Size of Collection: 0.10 linear feet.
Number of Boxes: 1 legal size file folder. 1 item.
Type of Material: Diary.
Condition of Material: Good.
Arrangement: Organized by author; Chronological arrangement.
Biographical / Historical Information: Charles Earl Fortson was a flight crew member aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise from September 30, 1943 until November 23, 1945. He was born on March 7, 1925 in McCracken County, Kentucky. Fortson was inducted into the United States Naval Training School at Great Lakes, Illinois on May 19, 1943. After graduation, he was assigned to the U.S.S. Enterprise on September 30, 1943. He remained onboard the aircraft carrier until the ship was sent for repairs on May 15, 1945. He was honorably discharged on November 23, 1945. Following the war, he returned to Kentucky where he was employed as a landman for a gas and oil company at Calvert City. He died on January 5, 1986.
Scope and Content: Collection consists of a photocopied diary kept by Charles Earl Fortson from May 20, 1943 to May 15, 1945 while serving aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise during the Second World War. The diary describes significant events aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise from September 30, 1943 to May 15, 1945. Entrees in the dairy include descriptions of the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Battle of Leyte Gulf and numerous minor engagements.
Subject Headings / Descriptors:
Fortson, Charles Earl, 1925-1986.
Enterprise (U.S. aircraft carrier) – History.
World War, 1939-1945 – Personal narratives, American.
Leyte Gulf, Battle of. Philippines, 1944.
Philippine Sea, Battle of the. 1944 (June 19-21)
