An Unsung Hero – Charles Geller
By Pati Egan
Most Campers and Staff are familiar with the story of Larry Garner (Vietnam 07/30/67). Most are not familiar with Charles Geller. There is a monument dedicated to him off to the side of the Original Dining Hall between the Angel Statue and the Handicrafts Building. Jim Shively remembers Charles Geller and every year maintains the flags and area around the monument. One Veteran caring for a monument to another Veteran.
Assumption High School Senior Photo. This lists St. Joseph’s in East St. Louis as his grade school but the people I talked with all knew him from St. Philip’s in East St. Louis.
Charles Geller’s service was not as heroic as Larry Garner but he paid the ultimate price for his country and gave his life in a battle in Vietnam. In my way of thinking that makes him a hero.
His father owned Geller Construction. As a member of St. Philip’s Parish (the birthplace of Camp Ondessonk) Charles and his dad spent many volunteer hours building and improving Camp Ondessonk. I wonder if his dad worked on the extension of the Original Dining Hall, completed in 1969. Charles was not on Staff.
Charles Geller joined the United States Marine Corps on September 6, 1966. He arrived in Vietnam on June 15th, 1967. The story of how this brave young man met his death is both heroic and symbolic of the Vietnam War. His patrol was ambushed. He courageously engaged the enemy. It must have been a ferocious battle; the proud Marines stayed in the fight as long as they could.
Charles was initially listed as Missing in Action. He and his fellow Marines were not recovered for several weeks.
I was not able to find any record of when the monument was placed at Camp. I’m going to interview Jim Shively for a more in-depth look at this brave young man.
Charles Geller’s name is on the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC.
Special thanks to Wayne Sheridan’s post on Facebook in You Knew You Grew Up In East St. Louis IF…he is featuring all of the soldiers that died in Vietnam from East St. Louis in his post. I was scanning through it and came across Charles Geller’s name and thought “that’s the person on the monument at Camp.”
Charles Geller gave his life for his Country. The next time you are at Camp think of his ultimate sacrifice and remember that we can all do our part in big and small ways.
