Charles William (Soltis) Summers - Mechanic

On February 23, 1893, Rudolf Diesel received a patent in Germany for the engine that bears his name. The diesel engine burns fuel oil rather than gasoline and is used in trucks and heavy industrial machinery.  The anniversary of the invention of the Diesel engine is the inspiration for this week's family history post.

Charles William (Soltis) Summers (April 2, 1906 - January 29, 2002) first enlisted in the Army in New York City on February 2, 1924 at the age of 17.  At the time, he lied about his birth year in order to enlist and said he was born in 1904.   "I was sent to Mitchell Field on Long Island, New York.  Then I was sent back to Ohio for mechanics training."[1]  He graduated from Air Corps Tech School on February 5, 1926.  This was the beginning of Charles' long career with mechanics.  After being trained in Ohio, he was transferred back to Mitchell Field and became part of the First Observation Squadron.  At this time, the U. S. Air Force had not yet been formed.  He was part of the Air Service which later became the U.S. Army Air Corps on July 2, 1926.  He was a mechanic at Mitchell Field until being discharged on February 1, 1927.

After being discharge Charles got a job back working with a railroad.  He was part of a railroad crew that would walk the rails all day long driving the spikes back into the tracks.  The rail company he worked for had tracks that ran through St. Louis, Missouri.  He reenlisted on October 20, 1927 in St. Louis.  He was part of the 19th brigade auto pool, being a mechanic on trucks.  During this enlistment he traveled around from Fort Davis/Camp Gatum and the Panama Canal Zone.  He was discharged on September 5, 1930 in Brooklyn, NY.

Charles in uniform in front of house at 1458 Rhode Avenue before leaving for service in 1944.  Edited digital image of an original in the collection of ©Virginia Summers Olsen 2020.02.16

"After I was discharged I came back to New York and worked in a gas station on Main Street in Hempstead, Long Island." [1]  And then he worked for 12 years at Apex Service in Garden City, New York.

Charles and his wife Anna before leaving in 1944.  Image of an original photo in the collection of ©Virginia Summers Olsen 2020.02.16 

During World War II, Charles reenlisted in the Army, on January 16, 1944 at the age of 37.  At the time of his enlistment, he had to leave his wife of 8 years (Anna Gillen), a daughter, age 7 and a son, age 6.  While serving, he was a mechanic and worked in the auto pool at Ft. Monmouth, NJ.  In addition to those duties, he also taught classes on auto mechanics to new troops.  He was discharged on Sep 19, 1945 at Fort Dix, NJ.  All totaled, Charles served over seven and a half years in the Army.

Copy of Charles' Army discharge papers from September 19, 1945.

After a long career working as a mechanic, Charles retired from Gartrell Motors, which was a truck sales/repair business.  Although retired, he never stopped working on cars.  In their retirement Charles and Anne loved traveling and camping.  During their travels Charles "...would always stop and help someone if they were broken down on the side of the road and help them get their car going again." [1]

Screen capture image from an undated home video by Charles of Anne and their camper. © Edward R. Olsen 2020.02.16.

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How I'm related to Charles William (Soltis) Summers:

                                   Charles (SOLTIS) SUMMERS = Anna Marie GILLEN
                                                                                          |
                                                                            Dad = Mom
                                                                                     |
                                                                                   Me

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References:
[1] Charles William Summers Memories; As told to daughter, Virginia Elaine Summers Olsen on January 12, 2001