World War II Letters from "Chuck" Pressentin

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BACK HOME, ONCE MORE
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A December, 1945 issue of the Sedro-Woolley, WA weekly paper, the Courier Times published this article:

"The above three Skagit county men who met during the war in the South Pacific, have now all returned to their homes. Charles Pressentin of Sedro-Woolley (left above), Fred Moody of Mount Vernon (center) and Gus "Brownie" Brown, former Shell manager of Sedro-Woolley and now at Bremerton, are just three of the many returned servicemen who have changed from khaki to snappy civilian clothing and have quietly taken their places once more in their communities. To these men and the hundreds like them in this locality, plans are now in the formative stage for a good old-fashioned welcome, either in the nature of an evening of entertainment or a good "bull-session."

Charles Pressentin was the last of the above trio to receive his discharge, having returned here this week. Chuck spent 43 months in the service, 29 months of which was spent overseas in the war against Japan, starting at Caledonia and then in an island-hopping itinerary which included Guadalcanal, New Hebrides, Dutch [New] Guinea and the Philippines. He and his airborne unit were scheduled for the first landing on the home islands of Japan when the war ended.

He plans to join his father here in the plumbing business."

Painting the Sedro-Woolley American Legion Post, 1947
Chuck, on the right

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The Rest of the Story
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Chuck followed through with only some of the plans that he had laid out to his sister, Pauline, in his last letter from the Philippines.

He did join his father, Charles von Pressentin X, in his plumbing business in Sedro-Woolley. He did re-marry, but not to the "little Portland gal" he had courted by V-Mail from New Guinea. He lived for a time on Samish Island with his second wife, "Dolly," but this marriage also ended in divorce. For much of the remainder of his life he lived with his parents in their home in Sedro-Woolley. He was an active member of the Sedro-Woolley American Legion Post 43.

After the death of his father, in 1960, Charles continued to operate the plumbing business and lived with his mother. On June 4, 1967 he was found in his truck, slumped over the steering wheel. The cause of his death, at age 53, was listed as "cardiac arrest."

Chuck was buried in the Union Cemetery in Sedro-Woolley with Military Honors conducted by the American Legion Post.

Barbara Halliday, one of Chuck's nieces
November 11, 2009

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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The following pages contain:

A Timeline of Chuck's Military service - page 16

Background on Vanuatu where both Chuck and James Michener, author of Tales of the South Pacific were based, at different times, during WWII. - page 17

Background on New Caledonia - page 18

Background – New Guinea - page 19

An Introduction to APO numbers - page 20

Links to related material:

An excellent military history of WWII--"U.S. Army Center of Military History"

Chuck's paternal grandparents were among the earliest settlers in the upper Skagit River Valley. This is the link to their story: Karl and Wilhelmine von Pressentin

Pg. 15