Speaking to the Future:
Otis Chartier
Otis M. Chartier is a World War II veteran, having served from August 1940 to December 1945. Originally enlisting in the US Army Air Corps because he wanted to be a pilot, he completed his tour of service in the 70th Infantry Division, US Army. Following recruit training here in Colorado at Lowry Field, he was posted to Fort Logan before being sent to Europe. Arriving in Marseilles on December 15th, 1944, Chartier and his company were soon involved in combat duty in France. He was the sole survivor of a squad ambushed by machine gun fire near Bitche. He participated in the battle for Philippsbourg, where he spent five days in a foxhole with no food or water. As a result of the extreme cold, he suffered from frost bite, but considered himself luckier than most as some of the others lost toes or feet. He also took part in the fighting near Spicheren where he was part of a two-man bazooka squad that knocked out a tank. In the fighting along the Siegried Line, he and four others captured 22 Germans that were in a pillbox. At the conclusion of WWII, Chartier took radio classes in Germany before coming back to the States.
Mr. Chartier passed away March 23, 2009. His obituary is available from the Fort Morgan Times.
