Dust, Steel, and Redemption
By Julia Jasmer
Charles Bradley Sullivan
2/12/1920-12/13/1985
Charles Bradley Sullivan was born on February 12th, 1920, in Fort Logan, Colorado. He grew up in Wyandotte, Kansas, with his father, mother, and two sisters.[1] Charles’ father, Charles E. Sullivan, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1888. Charles Sr’s mother and father—Charles Jr’s grandparents—were born outside the United States. His paternal grandmother was born in Ireland, and his paternal grandfather was born in England. Charles Jr’s mother, Elvena Sullivan, was born in 1893 in Kansas. Elvena’s parents, Charles Jr’s maternal grandparents, were both born in Sweden. Elvena was 21 when she married 25-year-old Charles Sr and worked at their rented home as a housewife. Both she and her husband were able to read, write, and speak English. Charles and Elvena later moved to Wyandotte, Kansas, after the birth of their three children. At the time the Sullivans lived there, Wyandotte was the biggest county in Kansas, at 145,071 people. Though soon after they moved there, Kansas was devastated by the effects of the Dust Bowl. Dust storms and severe droughts wrecked the Kansas farm economy throughout the decade of the 1930s. This, in addition to the Great Depression, caused even more calamity and anguish for Kansas and other neighboring Great Plains states. However, the Sullivans may have been able to stave off some of the loss as Charles Sr. did not work as a farmer. Rather, he worked as a woodworker in a cabinet shop as a wage or salary worker.
Charles also had two sisters: Clara and Priscilla Sullivan. Clara, nicknamed Clarie, was Charles’ older sister by two years and was born in 1918 in Colorado. Priscilla was Charles’ younger sister by three years and was also born in Colorado.
In 1940, when Charles was 20 years old, he lived in the Colorado State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado. Before 1940, Charles was charged with second-degree burglary. He did not attend college, and his highest grade completed was Elementary school, 8th grade. At 21 years old, he enlisted in the US Army to fight in World War II.
Originally, criminals were not allowed to serve in the armed forces, but as WWII wore on, that rule was modified. Induction standards and Selective Service regulations in almost all categories were lowered to allow criminals to fight. Over 2,000 men were accepted into the armed forces straight from jail or prison. Charles Bradley Sullivan among them. It was also estimated that nearly 100,000 men serving in the Army at that time had at some point been convicted of a felony. There were specific crimes that disallowed men from serving, in addition to those who had been convicted on two or more occasions.
Charles was most likely conditionally released from the Colorado State Penitentiary and reclassified as I-A (meaning he was now fit to register for the Army). He was registered on July 1st, 1940, in Johnson, Kansas. He began his service on January 9th, 1942. By this time, Charles was married, though his spouse remains unknown. He served as a Private in the Army. Private is the first rank in the United States Army. A Private’s primary responsibility is to obey the orders of their superior officers to the best of their abilities. As a Private rank, Charles earned a salary between $50 and $71.33.
Following his service, Charles moved to Denver, Colorado. Sadly, on December 13th, 1985, Charles Bradley Sullivan passed away at 65 years old. He was buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery among other honored veterans for his service to this country.
Footnotes ↓
[1] Infomration for this biography can be found at:
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