Teeling, Charles Madison, CPrtr

Chief Printer Teeling served in the Navy during both WWI and WWII. He originally enlisted on March 12, 1917. At some point (dates unknown), he was discharged from the Navy and he spent at least a few years working as a messenger for the US Postal Service. He reenlisted on March 1, 1938 and served until his death. He was aboard the USS Arizona (BB-39) when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and the ship sunk. His remains were not recovered and he was later declared dead.

Charles Madison Teeling was born August 9, 1899 in Albany, New York, son of William Teeling and Mary Ingraham Teeling. He had two brothers and one sister. The family lived in Albany, where his father worked as a painter. His father died before 1915, when he, his mother and siblings were living with his maternal grandmother in Albany. Charles attended one year of high school.
 
On March 12, 1917 he entered the Navy at the Albany, New York Recruiting Station. As an apprentice seaman he served aboard USS Louisiana from April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918. He was discharged on September 6, 1919 as a Seaman Second Class. In 1920 he was living in Albany with his mother, working as a post office manager.
 
Charles married Edith B. Bink on December 5, 1933 in Los Angeles, California. On March 1, 1938 he enlisted in the Naval Reserves at San Pedro, California. In 1940 he and Edith were living in El Monte, Los Angeles county, California.  He reported aboard USS Arizona (BB-39) on September 11, 1941 as a Chief Printer.
 
On December 7, 1941,  Japanese carrier-based aircraft launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Navy base and ships at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. During the attack, the USS Arizona (BB-39) was struck by eight armor-piercing bombs. One penetrated the Arizona's deck near its No. 2 turret, causing a large explosion that destroyed the forward half of the ship and started a fire that burned for two days. It is thought that most of the Arizonaâ??s crew members died instantly during the explosion. More than 1,100 sailors and Marines were lost along with the ship.
 
CPrtr Charles M. Teeling was aboard the Arizona on the day of the Pearl Harbor attack, December 7, 1941. His remains have not been recovered. He is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
 
Reference:
Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., State Census, 1905, 1915
1910; Census Place: Albany Ward 3, Albany, New York; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 0015
1920; Census Place: Albany Ward 3, Albany, New York; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 15
1940; Census Place: El Monte, Los Angeles, California; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 19-160A
Ancestry.com. California, U.S., County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980
Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Abstracts of World War I Military Service, 1917-1919
Ancestry.com. U.S., Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940
https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=361408
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7886091/charles-madison-teeling
Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949
 
This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.



Service number: 1036899