Each month, the Defense Department and honors the valor and service of Americans who have strengthened the country through military excellence and beyond.
Charles Norman Shay, a skilled soldier from the Penobscot tribe in Maine, was drafted into the Army in 1943 at age 19, answering the call to serve with distinction.
He trained as a combat medic and joined the 16th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division, known as the "Big Red One," where his expertise bolstered warfighting readiness.
On June 6, 1944, during the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, Shay landed on Omaha Beach under fire, immediately applying his medical prowess to save numerous wounded soldiers amid intense combat.
Later, his courage and skill shone in the Battles of Aachen, Hurtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge, where he tirelessly supported his unit’s warfighting efforts against determined German forces.
While attached to a reconnaissance squadron near Auel, Germany, close to the Sieg River, Shay’s team faced 20 German soldiers and a tank armed with an 88mm gun. Outmatched, they surrendered and marched 60 miles by night to Stalag VI-G POW Camp, joined by growing numbers of captured Americans. Shay endured interrogation until April 12, 1945, when U.S. forces encircled the camp, trapping 350,000 enemy troops and liberating the prisoners.
After returning home post-war and facing job scarcity, Shay reenlisted, embodying the warrior ethos of perseverance. Stationed in Vienna, Austria, he served as a medic with a military police unit, maintaining readiness in a critical postwar role.
When the Korean War began on June 25, 1950, Shay joined the 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division as a combat medic, bringing his battlefield-honed expertise to bear in another theater of warfighting.
His exemplary service earned him a Silver Star Medal, a Bronze Star Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and the French Legion of Honour, reflecting his commitment to the Army’s standards of excellence.
Shay retired as a master sergeant, having forged a career marked by unity of purpose and resilience. Now an elder of the Penobscot tribe in Maine, he resides in France, actively contributing to American veteran initiatives with the same dedication that defined his military tenure.