Charles Pierce Gordon, Jr. Papers
Collection
Identifier: Mss-0376
The majority of the material in the Charles Pierce Gordon, Jr. Papers document his service in the U.S. Army during World War II with the 13th and 707th Tank Battalion in France and Germany and with the 13th Tank Battalion during the occupation of Germany. There is a little material relating to his education at Clemson, including his diploma, as well as his post-war activities.
The correspondence in the Papers discusses news from home; difficulties in receiving mail, locations he visits or is billeted in during his service such Paris, France and Nuremberg, Germany; the point system used to determine discharge from military service; and some of his activities during the period 1945-1946. A notebook in the collection appears to contain notes relating to occupation service, and the photo album documents his training at the Armored School at Fort Knox, KY and at Fort Polk, LA as well as his service overseas.
The Gordon Papers are arranged alphabetically by folder title. The material in the collection dates from circa 1931 to 1952, with the bulk of the collection spanning the years 1945-1946.
The collection can be used to research military life, the end of World War II, and the occupation of Germany.
This collection is open to the public without restriction.
Charles Pierce Gordon, Jr. was born in Moreland, GA on July 28, 1914. He graduated from Clemson College in 1935 with a B.S. in Textile Chemistry and was appointed a second lieutenant in the Army Reserves. That same year Gordon joined the Ware Shoals (SC) Division of Riegel Textile Corporation as a textile chemist in the Division’s Bleachery laboratory. He moved to Trion, GA in 1937 and worked in the Riegel mill there as a dyer. Gordon married Mary Ann Ballard in 1938 and they have two daughters, Corinne and Mary Ann. In 1941 he became the assistant superintendent of the Dying and Finishing Plant.
Gordon was called to active duty in 1942 and became a first lieutenant. He attended the Armored School at Fort Knox, KY and was stationed at Fort Polk, LA. In 1945 he was sent overseas and joined the 707th Tank Battalion which was refitting in Epernay, France. Assigned to the Headquarters Company, he served as a reconnaissance platoon leader when the unit returned to combat in April of that year. The 707th participated in the Rhineland and Central European campaigns while attached to the 76th, 65th, and 89th Infantry Divisions, reaching the border with Czechoslovakia just before Germany surrenders. The battalion then moved to Nuremburg.
After the surrender Gordon served as the battalion’s S-2 (security officer). Near the end of July 1945 he was transferred to the Headquarters Company of the 13th Tank Battalion, 1st Armored Division, which is part of the army of occupation. Gordon was stationed in Niederwalluf, Schwäbisch Hall, and Ulm, Germany with the 13th and served at one point as an acting company commander. He returned to the United States in March 1946 and left active duty with the rank of captain. Gordon was honorably discharged from the Army Reserves in 1952.
After the war Gordon returned to the Riegel mill in Trion and became the superintendent of the Dying and Finishing Plant in 1950. He later moved to North Carolina and became the head chemist for the Reeves Brothers Inc. textile plant there. Gordon died in Clemson, SC on January 16, 1993.
.5 Cubic Feet
English
The Charles Pierce Gordon, Jr. Papers can be used to research military life, the end of World War II and the occupation of Germany.
The collection contains correspondence, a diploma, a leather book cover, a newsletter, newspaper clippings, a notebook, and a photograph album that document his service in the U.S. Army during World War II, particularly the 13th and 707th Tank Battalions.
This collection contains language that is outdated, biased, or offensive.
Alphabetical.
Donated by Corrine Grizzard via Dr. Jerome V. Reel in 2011, 2013, and 2019. Accessions 11-120, 13-199, and 2019-048.
This collection contains language that is outdated, biased, or offensive.
The collection was processed and a finding aid created by James Cross in 2022-2024.
Part of the Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Repository