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Kowallis, Charles A. (39906108): Difference between revisions

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|surname=Kowallis
|surname=Kowallis
|first=Charles
|first=Charles
|middle=A.
|middle=Abrams
|birth_year=1913
|birth_year=1913
|enlistment_place=SALT LAKE CITY UTAH
|enlistment_place=SALT LAKE CITY UTAH
|state=UTAH
|state=Utah
|education=4 years of high school
|education=4 years of high school
|occupation=Retail managers
|occupation=Retail managers
|marital=Married
|marital=Married
|death_year=2007
|death_year=2007
|photo=5997341906954347.jpg
|photo=Kowallis_Charles_A_39906108_portrait.jpg
|birth_date=28 January 1913
|birth_date=28 January 1913
|birth_place=Montpelier, Idaho, at
|birth_place=Montpelier, Idaho
|death_place=Salt Lake City, Ut
|death_place=Salt Lake City, Utah
|nativity=United States
|death_date=26 January 2007
}}
}}


<div class="soldier-lead">
<div class="soldier-lead">
'''[[Kowallis, Charles A. (39906108)|Charles A. Kowallis]]''' (28 January 1913 – 2007) was a Ritchie Boy who trained at Camp Ritchie.
'''[[Kowallis, Charles A. (39906108)|Charles Abrams Kowallis]]''' (28 January 1913 – 26 January 2007) was an Idaho-born Ritchie Boy whose German language skills from an LDS mission led to Camp Ritchie training before a medical discharge.
</div>
</div>


== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Charles Abrams Kowallis was a Ritchie Boy. Charles was born January 28, 1913 in Montpelier, Idaho, at the home of his father's sister. The Kowallis family lived on a dry farm in Arbon Valley (commonly called Bannock), Power County, Idaho, which his father homesteaded in 1910. When Charles was four years old, the family moved to Logan, Utah. Charles attended Logan City Schools; Ellis, Benson, and Logan High School. Charles also played football, tennis, was on the track team for three years and a Four-Letterman. During depression days, Charles worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps, as Company Clerk, and played on the basketball team for them. Case Implement Company and later, the Kowallis Implement and Hardware, working for his father. Following his father's death in 1940, Charles and his brother Wilford bought the business from their mother and formed a partnership. In January 1943, Charles was inducted into the army and sent to Atlantic City (Air Corps), then on to Camp Ritchie in Maryland, because of his German language. Six months later, in July, Charles was given a medical discharge. Until his retirement in 1978, Charles and his brother Wilford continuously ran the business they had bought from their mother in 1940. Charles Abrams Kowallis passed away Friday, January 26, 2007 at a nursing home in Salt Lake City, Ut. He was the third child in a family of eight children. During the winter months, his father would travel selling calendars to supplement his income from the farm. He enjoyed sports and for three years. He played in State Basketball making second All-State team the third year. He left for the German-Austrian LDS, Mission in November 1931, and ate Thanksgiving dinner on the boat. He was released July 1934. He was later employed by the J. The next year he married Nina Theo Green on May 6, 1941.
Charles Abrams Kowallis was born on 28 January 1913 in Montpelier, Idaho, and grew up on a dry farm in Arbon Valley (Bannock), Power County, Idaho, before the family moved to Logan, Utah. He attended Logan city schools and Logan High School, where he lettered in several sports. From November 1931 to July 1934 he served an LDS mission in Germany and Austria. During the Depression he worked as a Civilian Conservation Corps company clerk, then in the family implement and hardware business. He married Nina Theo Green on 6 May 1941 in the Logan Temple.
 
Kowallis was inducted into the Army in January 1943 and sent first to Atlantic City with the Air Corps, then to Camp Ritchie because of his German. About six months later, in July 1943, he received a medical discharge.
 
After the war he and his brother Wilford operated Kowallis Hardware and Implements in Logan until retirement in 1978. He later lived in Salt Lake City and died there on 26 January 2007 at age 94.


== Research notes ==
== Research notes ==
== Gallery ==
<div class="soldier-gallery">
<gallery mode="packed" heights="140px">
Kowallis_Charles_A_39906108_portrait.jpg|Later-life studio portrait of Charles Abrams Kowallis (RB Archive CAK.png)
Kowallis_Charles_A_39906108_autobiography_scan.jpg|Typed autobiographical summary mentioning Camp Ritchie (RB Archive FL14689312 scan)
</gallery>
</div>


== Technical record ==
== Technical record ==
Line 84: Line 98:
| row_source || demographics
| row_source || demographics
|}
|}
== Timeline ==
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed soldier-timeline">
<div class="soldier-timeline-body">
* 28 January 1913 — Born in Montpelier, Idaho; later lived on Arbon Valley farm and in Logan, Utah.
* November 1931 – July 1934 — LDS mission, Germany and Austria.
* Depression years — CCC company clerk; family hardware / implement business.
* 6 May 1941 — Married Nina Theo Green in the Logan Temple.
* January 1943 — Inducted; Air Corps processing at Atlantic City, then Camp Ritchie (German language).
* July 1943 — Medical discharge.
* Postwar – 1978 — Operated Kowallis Hardware and Implements in Logan with brother Wilford.
* 26 January 2007 — Died in Salt Lake City, Utah.
</div>
</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>


== Sources ==
== Sources ==
* Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
* RB Archive folder “Charles Abrams Kowallis” photographs ([[:File:Kowallis_Charles_A_39906108_portrait.jpg|portrait]], [[:File:Kowallis_Charles_A_39906108_autobiography_scan.jpg|autobiography scan]])
* Autobiographical sketch by Charles Abrams Kowallis (RB Archive DOCX FL14689312_2275449_000467; private family copy, not uploaded)
* [https://www.allenmortuaries.net/obituaries/CharlesAbrams-Kowallis-498/#!/Obituary Allen Mortuaries — Charles Abrams Kowallis obituary (26 January 2007)]
* Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
* Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
* NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
* NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
* 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
* 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
* Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-12-28 (1 post)
* Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-12-28 (1 post)

Latest revision as of 16:03, 16 September 2026

Charles Abrams Kowallis
Charles Abrams Kowallis
Personal details
Born28 January 1913
Montpelier, Idaho
Died26 January 2007
Salt Lake City, Utah
NativityUnited States
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
ASN39906108
EnlistedSalt Lake City, Utah
Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.
Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.


Charles Abrams Kowallis (28 January 1913 – 26 January 2007) was an Idaho-born Ritchie Boy whose German language skills from an LDS mission led to Camp Ritchie training before a medical discharge.

Biography[edit | edit source]

Charles Abrams Kowallis was born on 28 January 1913 in Montpelier, Idaho, and grew up on a dry farm in Arbon Valley (Bannock), Power County, Idaho, before the family moved to Logan, Utah. He attended Logan city schools and Logan High School, where he lettered in several sports. From November 1931 to July 1934 he served an LDS mission in Germany and Austria. During the Depression he worked as a Civilian Conservation Corps company clerk, then in the family implement and hardware business. He married Nina Theo Green on 6 May 1941 in the Logan Temple.

Kowallis was inducted into the Army in January 1943 and sent first to Atlantic City with the Air Corps, then to Camp Ritchie because of his German. About six months later, in July 1943, he received a medical discharge.

After the war he and his brother Wilford operated Kowallis Hardware and Implements in Logan until retirement in 1978. He later lived in Salt Lake City and died there on 26 January 2007 at age 94.

Research notes[edit | edit source]

Gallery[edit | edit source]

  • Later-life studio portrait of Charles Abrams Kowallis (RB Archive CAK.png)
    Later-life studio portrait of Charles Abrams Kowallis (RB Archive CAK.png)
  • Typed autobiographical summary mentioning Camp Ritchie (RB Archive FL14689312 scan)
    Typed autobiographical summary mentioning Camp Ritchie (RB Archive FL14689312 scan)

Technical record[edit | edit source]

Field Imported value
Nara ASN 39906108
Nara Name KOWALLIS CHARLES A
Nara State 96
Nara County 5
Nara POE 9689
Nara DOE 40143
Nara Grade Alpha PVT
Nara Grade Code 8
Nara Branch Alpha BI
Nara Branch Code 0
Branch Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Nara Term or Enlistment 5
Term of enlistment Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Defer. Date 0
Nara Source 0
Nara Nativity 92
Nativity.1 IDAHO
Nara Year of Birth 13
Nara Race 1
Nara Race Description White citizen
Nara Education 4
Nara Civilian Occupation 72
Nara Marital Status 2
Nara Height (inches) 72
Nara Weight (lbs) 181
row_source demographics

Timeline[edit | edit source]

  • 28 January 1913 — Born in Montpelier, Idaho; later lived on Arbon Valley farm and in Logan, Utah.
  • November 1931 – July 1934 — LDS mission, Germany and Austria.
  • Depression years — CCC company clerk; family hardware / implement business.
  • 6 May 1941 — Married Nina Theo Green in the Logan Temple.
  • January 1943 — Inducted; Air Corps processing at Atlantic City, then Camp Ritchie (German language).
  • July 1943 — Medical discharge.
  • Postwar – 1978 — Operated Kowallis Hardware and Implements in Logan with brother Wilford.
  • 26 January 2007 — Died in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Sources[edit | edit source]

  • RB Archive folder “Charles Abrams Kowallis” photographs (portrait, autobiography scan)
  • Autobiographical sketch by Charles Abrams Kowallis (RB Archive DOCX FL14689312_2275449_000467; private family copy, not uploaded)
  • Allen Mortuaries — Charles Abrams Kowallis obituary (26 January 2007)
  • Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
  • Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
  • NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
  • 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-12-28 (1 post)
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