• May 26, 1918 – June 12, 1944
• From Knox County, TN
• Liberal Arts – 1936-1939
• Major – Army
• HQ Co, 3rd Bn, 507th PIR, 82nd Airborne. KIA at the Battle of Graignes, Normandy.
  • Held against the 17th Panzergrenadier Division
  • Dropped into the area on D-Day
  • Killed by an 88mm barrage that hit their command post built in a local school
  • Outnumbered by 10 to 1
  • Command taken over by Captain Leroy Brummitt and evacuated 
• Memorialized at Lynnhurst Cemetery in Knox County, TN, and the Memorial Plaque at Graignes, France

Charles Douglas Johnston (May 26, 1918 – June 12, 1944) was from Knox County, Tennessee. He attended the University of Tennessee from 1936 to 1939 and graduated with a degree in Liberal Arts. Johnston enlisted in the United States Army in 1939 before the war began for the United States in December 1941. During the war, Johnston was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division as an officer in the 507th Paratrooper Regiment’s 3rd Battalion HQ Company. By June 6, 1944, D-Day, Charles Johnston had risen to the rank of Major and was in command of the 3rd Battalion. The 507th was dropped during the Invasion of Normandy, but the 3rd Bn overshot their designated landing zone by nearly 18 miles and were scattered south of Carentan. Major Johnston rallied the 3rd Bn at the village of Graignes and began fortifying their positions for the defense of the village over the next few days. By June 10th, the 3rd Bn was assaulted by the mechanized 17th Panzergrenadier Division on its way to counterattack the Allied landings on Normandy. Outnumbered an estimated ten to one against the Germans, the 3rd Bn held the village for several days. However, on the night of June 11th, the Germans set up and began hitting their positions with 88mm guns. Major Charles Johnston was killed in action during one of these barrages that night when shells hit his command post located at the local village school. Command was taken over by Captain Leroy Brummitt, and the order was given for the remainder of 3rd Bn to break off and retreat away from Graignes. This became known as the Battle of Graignes, one of the fiercest engagements during the Normandy Invasion. Major Charles Johnston is memorialized on the Graignes Memorial Plaque commemorating the Americans who died in defense of the village. He is also memorialized at Lynnhurst Cemetery in Knox County, Tennessee.

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