FORT WORTH, Texas — Charles Frank Pendleton was just 21 years old when he made the ultimate sacrifice for the United States, leaving his loved ones and new wife behind in 1953.
"I called him Charlie,” said Mary Margaret Snell, who married Cpl. Pendleton on Sept. 1, 1952.
It has been nearly 70 years since Snell saw her late husband for the last time before he was sent to fight in the Korean War.
"He told me when he left, he said, 'You know, if I am mortally injured I won’t be back.' You know, I just didn’t think that was gonna happen of course, you know,” she recalled.
They had been married for just a few months and lived in Fort Worth, where he grew up. Snell says he was sent down to Fort Hood and then stationed in California, until he received orders to go overseas.
“That was the last time I saw him, so they shipped him to Korea,” she said.
The young Mrs. Pendleton hoped for a better outcome, but she also knew he was a brave and selfless man whose instinct was to protect others at all cost.
"He said he was gonna give it all he had," she said.
Which is exactly what he did on July 16 and 17 of 1953 while fighting in Choo Gung-Dong, Korea. Cpl. Pendleton fired at approaching enemy troops, striking and defeating 15 enemy soldiers.
He was able to disorganize the opponents by throwing grenades at them. He eventually exposed himself to the enemy while continuing to fight and protect his fellow soldiers. His brave acts saved the lives of many men who fought alongside him, but unfortunately he was struck by a mortar burst in the battle and lost his life.
It took about two months for his body to arrive back home. Snell, who now resides in North Richland Hills, remembers she was crushed the moment she read the news of his arrival on the paper.
"I knew that his body was coming by train,” she said.
The experience of the events that took place after his death are still hard for Snell to put into words today.
“I don’t want to cry, but it was just so … rewarding,” she said.
She says that’s when his legacy began. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic sacrifice and over the decades he has been honored several times in Fort Worth and around the nation.
“It’s a blessing and an honor to stand up in his honor,” said Snell, who has attended every memorial in his honor.
Because Cpl. Pendleton graduated from Paschal High School, she decided to share his achievements with the school. The school named its ROTC wing after him and proudly displays his Medal of Honor, Bible and other belongings, along with a portrait an alumnus painted in his memory at the department.
“To walk around here and to see the portrait, to actually have his Medal of Honor sitting in my department right now, it is unbelievable,” said retired Lt. Col. Derrick Corbett, Paschal High School Army JROTC.
It is a way to teach young men and women about service and valor, through the story of a brave man who walked the very same school halls they do.
“Charles Pendleton’s service, sacrifice is a shining example of when we talk about service, service above self, service to our nation and even here in the community,” Corbett said.
The inspiration Cpl. Pendleton gives young men and women interested in the military is something that gives joy to Snell.
“I was so thrilled when they told me that the school had so many young people even women now that are going through ROTC,” Snell said.
At 87 years old, Snell is committed to keep standing up in honor of the man who once was her husband, best friend and became a Fort Worth hero, until her last days.
“Even though we thought it was gonna be different, God had a different plan, but I know I’ll see him again,” she said with a smile on her face.
Keeping the memory of Fort Worth’s Cpl. Charles Frank Pendleton and his sacrifice for the country alive for generations to come.
