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Contact Info
Date of Passing Aug 21, 1963
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
This is to Certify that
The President of the United States of America
Takes Pride in Presenting
THE
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS
to
CANHAM, CHARLES DRAPER WILLIAM
Citation:
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Charles Draper William Canham, Colonel (Infantry), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Commanding Officer, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces on 6 June 1944, at Normandy, France. Colonel Canham landed on the beach shortly after the assault wave of troops had landed. At the time, the enemy fire was at its heaviest and had completely arrested the attack. Though wounded shortly after landing, Colonel Canham, with utter disregard for his own safety, continued to expose himself to the enemy fire in his efforts to reorganize the men. His personal bravery and determination so inspired and heartened the men that they were able to break through the enemy positions. Colonel Canham's outstanding leadership, gallantry and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 29th Infantry Division, and the United States Army. Headquarters, First U.S. Army, General Orders No. 29 (June 29, 1944)
Other Comments:
Major General Charles Draper William Canham (January 26, 1901 - August 21, 1963) was the commander of the 29th Infantry Division's 116th Infantry Regiment, which landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
Canham joined the Army on May 23, 1919. In 1921, as a sergeant, Canham took a course in the Army's first preparatory school to allow soldiers from the ranks to attend the United States Military Academy. He was chosen and graduated from West Point in 1926.
Prior to World War II, he served in the Philippines and Shanghai and was one of the purchasers of the Shanghai Bowl. During these years he acquired a reputation as a strict disciplinarian and superb leader of troops.
In 1942, as a colonel, he took command of the 116th Infantry Regiment shortly before it sailed for England. Canham's 116th Infantry, alongside the 1st Infantry Division's 16th Infantry Regiment, was chosen as the first to land at Omaha beach on D-Day. The opening scene of the movie Saving Private Ryan depicts the conditions under which Canham's regiment landed on the Dog Green sector of Omaha Beach along with one company of Army Rangers. Shortly after hitting the beach, Canham was shot through the wrist, refusing evacuation, he moved his men off Omaha and inland. Sergeant Bob Slaughter (D Company, 116th) remembers Canham screaming at soldiers to move off the beach and go kill Germans. Slaughter remembers him yelling at one lieutenant hiding in a pillbox from a German mortar barrage, "Get your ass out of there and show some leadership!". Don McCarthy (Headquarters Company, 116th) remembers seeing Canham walking upright along the beach in the face of enemy fire, "I got the hell out of there and moved forward. I was more afraid of Colonel Canham than I was of the Germans."
For his actions on Omaha Beach, and the fighting to take Saint Lô, he received the United States' second highest award for valor in combat, the Distinguished Service Cross.
Soon afterwards Canham was promoted to Brigadier General and was named as the Assistant Division Commander of the 8th Infantry Division. It was in this capacity during the surrender of the German garrison at the Port of Brest (see Battle for Brest) that Canham unknowingly gave the 8th Infantry Division its motto. Upon entering the headquarters of Lieutenant General Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, a famed leader of German paratroops, Ramcke demanded to know the lower ranking Canham's credentials as a condition of surrender. Unruffled, Canham pointed to the dirty and tired American soldiers he had brought with him to witness the surrender and said, "These are my credentials."
The account of this event, which was reported in the New York Times, saw in this spontaneous statement of a combat leader the greatest tribute ever paid to the real power of the American Army, the individual soldier.
By the end of World War II, Canham had earned every award for valor less the Medal of Honor from the United States. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order by General Bernard L. Montgomery of the British Army and several awards for valor from France.
After the war, Canham was Assistant Division Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division and later became commanding general of the 82nd. He was also the commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division and the commanding general of XI Corps.
Canham retired from the Army in 1960 with 41 years of service. He died on August 21, 1963 at Walter Reed General Hospital aged 62 years and is interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
Major General C. D. W. Canham entered the service May 23, 1919.
In 1921 as a sergeant he took a competitive course in the Army's first preparatory school school for soldiers to go to West Point from the ranks. He was chosen and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1926.
During the years prior to WWII he served in the Phillipines and Shanghai and was one of the purchasers of the Shanghai Bowl. During these years he acquired the reputation as a strict disciplinarian and a troop leader.
In 1942, he took command of the 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division before it sailed for England. This regiment and the 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division were chosen as the first to land at Omaha beach. Shortly after hitting the beach, Canham was shot thru the wrist, refusing evacuation, he moved his men off Omaha and moved inland. For his actions on Omaha Beach and the fighting to take St. Lo he received the Distinguished Service Cross and was promoted to Brigadier General and took over command as the Assistant Division Commander of the 8th Infantry Division. It was in this capacity that he took in the name of his 8th Division troopers, the surrender of Brest.
Upon entrance to the German command headquarters of General Ramcke, commander of the German 2nd. Parachute Division, Canham was asked for his credentials, without hesitation he turned to the GI's accompaning him and said, These are my credentials." The account of this event which was reported in the New York Times saw in this spontaneous statement of a combat leader the greatest tribute ever paid to the real power of the American Army.
By the end of WWII, Canham had earned every award for valor less the Congressional Medal of Honorfrom the United States. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order by General Bernard L. Montgomery of the British Army and several awards for valor from France.
After the war, Canham was Assistant Division Commander of the 82nd Airborne and later became Commanding General of the 82nd. He was also the Commanding General of the 3rd Infantry Division, Director of Posts, Europe, and Commanding General of XI Corps.
Canham retired from the Army in 1960 with 41 years of service. He died on 21 August 1963 at Walter Reed General Hospital aged 62 years and is intered at Arlington National Cemetary.
"Soldiers are our credentials" is the creed of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Dennis J. Reimer today. Taken from the motto of the Army's 8th Infantry Division, it came from the reply of assistant division commander Brigadier General Charles Canham, during World War II, to a German general who refused to surrender until he saw the American general's credentials. Turning to the two GIs who had accompanied him, Gen. Canham said, "These are my credentials."
"'[Colonel Charles Canham] was yelling and screaming for the officers to get the men off the beach. 'Get the hell off this damn beach and go kill some Germans!' There was an officer taking refuge from an enemy mortar barrage in a pillbox. Right in front of me Colonel Canham screamed" Get your ass out of there and show some leadership!'" To another lieutenant he roared, "'Get these men off their dead asses and over that wall!'" --Sergeant John R. Slaughter
Beginning at 0730, regimental command parties began to arrive. The main command group of the 116th RCT included Colonel Charles D. W. Canham and General Cota. LCVP 71 came in on Dog White, bumping an obstacle and nudging the Teller mine until it dropped off, without exploding. Landing in three feet of water, the party lost one officer in getting across the exposed area. From the standpoint of influencing further operations, they could not have hit a better point in the 116th one. To their right and left, Company C and some 2d Battalion elements were crowded against the embankment on a front of a few hundred yards, the main Ranger force was about to come into the same area, and enemy fire from the bluffs just ahead was masked by smoke and ineffective. The command group was well located to play a major role in the next phase of action.
The most important penetration on the western beaches (Map No. VII) was made by Company C, 116th Infantry, and by the 5th Ranger Battalion, which had landed partly on top of Company C. Both units were in relatively good condition after the landings and had suffered only minor losses, but the men were crowded shoulder to shoulder, sometimes several rows deep, along the shingle at the base of the timber sea wall.
Intermingled with these troops were one or two boat sections from other units of the 116th, and some engineer elements. Reorganization for assault was spurred by the presence of General Cota and the command group of the 116th Infantry, who had landed in this area about 0730. Exposed to enemy fire, which wounded Colonel Canham in the wrist, they walked up and down behind the crowded sea wall, urging officers and noncoms to "jar men loose" and get moving.
S
EPTEMBER 19, 1944: The capture of Nazi General Herman Bernard Ramcke was pure and unexpected velvet, but the right climax to the finish of the Crozon Peninsula campaign. Ruthless, hard-bitten, he had already turned down two chances to quit, and had just ducked out of Brest. He was the extra dividend on the training in the Deep South, the Arizona desert, Northern Ireland, and then the hard hacking down from the Ay River into the knowledge of what it is to play for keeps.
Smashing ahead on the heels of its own artillery barrage, one hour before the attack of September 19, the 3rd Battalion, 13th Infantry, caught the Germans piling out of their shelters, before they reached their positions. As the assault companies drove north, the reserve company, Company I, was left to clear a strip of west beach, heavily salted with pillboxes and coastal guns.
Platoon Commander 1st Lt. James M. Dunham, leading his men through the emplacements, spotted the white flags first. And so Lt. Gen. Ramcke might have been his baby. But a German medic insisted in precise English that the general was waiting below in a dugout for the American commanding officers. He wanted a first class surrender.
In a few minutes Brig. Gen. Charles D. W. Canham, assistant division commander; Col. R. A. Griffin, 13th Infantry commander; and Lt. Col. Earl L. Lerette, 3rd Battalion commander, had gone to inspect their catch, 75 feet underground.
"I am to surrender to you," Ramcke told Gen. Canham through his own interpreter. "I want to see your credentials."
Gen. Canham pointed to the eager dogfaces crowding the entrance with their M-1s. "These are my credentials."
This blunt phrase put the Nazi in his place, and paid dramatic tribute to the real power behind America's armies — the G.I.
The peninsula campaign folded when a truce was signed that evening. In two months the 8th had accounted for nearly 15,000 prisoners, vast quantities of supplies, and a lasting crimp in the enemy's morale. It was a combat achievement that put the division into the big time play for Berlin.
WWII - European Theater of Operations/Rhineland Campaign (1944-45)/Advance to the Rhine
From Month/Year
January / 1945
To Month/Year
March / 1945
Description Before Eisenhower ordered his troops across Germany's traditional boundary, he gave the order to clear the area west of the Rhine River (and south of the Maas and Waal rivers in the Netherlands). The armies involved were, from north to south:
Canadian First and British Second Armies, attacking the northern section west of the Arnhem-Wesel region.
American Ninth Army, attacking the area west of the Duisburg-Düsseldorf region.
American First Army, attacking Cologne-Bonn region.
American Third Army, attacking the wide central Rhine region, including the Saar Basin.
American Seventh Army, attacking the Saar Basin.
French First Army, attacking the southern area from Strasbourg to near the Austrian border.
In the extreme south of this operation, the French First Army launched their offensive against Colmar on 20 Jan 1945. Fierce German resistance and bad weather slowed the progress of the French troops. To reinforce the French, the XXI Corps under the command of Major General Frank Milburn came into the region, which included three American infantry divisions and one French armored division. The Germans surrendered Colmar on 3 Feb, and within a week all German forces in the region retreated across the Rhine. German casualties reached the count of 22,000 near Colmar.
The northern borders of German were heavily defended with the best troops that were available to Germany, including the First Paratroop Army. The dams along the Roer also provided the German forces additional advantage in that they could control of the flow of the water by opening or closing the dams based on reported Allied movements. British General Bernard Montgomery launched his Canadian troops first, under the command of General H.D.G Crerar, on 10 Feb 1945 into the muddy flooded region near the Netherlands-Germany border. Slightly to the south, the American troops that could have relieved some pressure off of the bogged-down Canadian troops were sitting in frustration as the Roer was flooded by German troops, making an American advance impossible. The opportunity finally came two weeks later, launching the offensive on 23 Feb. The American troops maneuvered through difficult terrain caused by destructive Allied bombing and shelling, often needing armored bulldozers to clear the way so that Allied armor could continue their advance. The American Ninth Army finally met up with the Canadian and British troops on 3 Mar, driving the Germans back to their defensive positions at bridges on the Rhine.
Part of the difficult terrain formed by bombing encountered by the Ninth Army was caused by Operation Clarion, an operation launched on 22 Feb 1945 with the goal of wiping out all forms of transportation still available to the German troops at this stage of the war. In 24 hours, nearly 9,000 aircraft were sent from Britain, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands in a coordinated attack over 250,000 square miles of German territory. The primary targets were roads, bridges, crossroad towns, ports, and railroads. The Luftwaffe, previously hurt and currently overwhelmed, offered little organized resistance to the Allied operation. "It was a most imaginative and successful operation and stood as one of the highlights in the long air campaign to destroy the German warmaking power", commented Dwight Eisenhower.
On the same day Lieutenant General William Simpson's Ninth Army launched their attacks in the northern sector, Omar Bradley ordered the First and Third armies to strike the central sector. The American VII Corps reached the outskirts of Cologne on 5 Mar, completely surprising the hastily trained German defenders. Cologne fell under American control two days later. The unexpected quick capture of Cologne gave Eisenhower some breathing room in that should any nearby sectors run into difficulties, the VII Corps could spare a couple of divisions as reserve or reinforcements.
The opportunity to use the reserves came almost immediately. As Major General Courtney Hodges' III and V Corps reached the Rhine near Remagen, their rapid advances completely surprised the German troops, and in this surprise they had failed to destroy the Ludendorff Bridge as the other German units had done to the other bridges on the Rhine as the Allied troops drew near. Without hesitation, the 9th Armored Division of the III Corps crossed the bridge and established a defensive perimeter. A small charge exploded under the bridge, damaging some of its understructure, but the bridge remained in tact. Knowing that he had no orders to cross the Rhine just yet, Bradley cautiously reported the situation back to Eisenhower, who recalled:
"I was at dinner in my Reims headquarters with the corps and division commanders of the American airborne forces when Bradley's call came through. When he reported that we had a permanent bridge across the Rhine I could scarcely believe my ears.... I fairly shouted into the telephone: 'How much have you got in that vicinity that you can throw across the river?'"
With Eisenhower's blessing, Bradley ordered four divisions to cross the bridge near Remagen. From the north, Eisenhower sent entire divisions from the Cologne area to Remagen. "That was one of my happy moments in the war", Eisenhower commented in 1948. Within two days the bridgehead area was expanded three miles into German territory. Even though on 17 Mar German long-range artillery fire caused the previously damaged Ludendorff Bridge to collapse (recall the small charge that caused structural damage when the bridge was initially secured), by this time a large number of American troops and equipment had already crossed the river, and enough temporary bridges were established in the region to supply these troops.
During the action on the west bank of the Rhine, a major logistical operation was underway to transport Canadian and British troops from the Mediterranean region to the 21st Army Group in western Europe. The goal, as stated by Eisenhower's headquarters, was "to build up the maximum possible strength on the Western Front to seek a decision in that theatre". The bulk of the troops transferred during Operation Goldflake landed at the port city of Marseille and travelled across France on the vast network of roads and railroads. One achievement to be noted with this operation was that the large number of troops travelled across the country of France without disrupting supply runs to the front lines. Experienced logistical staff of the Allies contributed greatly to this achievement; Eisenhower commended those who were responsible in the planning of this operation, stating that
"[t]he complicated process of moving the units to France and northward across the lines of communication of the Southern and Central Groups of Armies was carried out efficiently and smoothly, and the security precautions taken were completely successful in concealing from the Germans what was afoot."
Politically, it also appeased the Canadian leaders, who wished that at this stage all Canadian troops involved in Europe could serve under one single chain-of-command. As all Canadians serving in Europe came under the command of H.D.G. Crerar under the flag of the First Canadian Army, he emotionally announced to his troops that "now that we are all together, let us all speed to the victory in no uncertain manner".
A little to the south, the Third Army secured both banks of the Moselle River. The northern component of the Third Army reached the Rhine on 10 Mar, while the southern arm attacked the Saar Basin simultaneously with the American Seventh Army to the south. The German defense at the Saar Basin held on valiantly, but to little effectiveness. Instead of sacrificing this region and withdrawing the troops across the Rhine where natural barriers could have provided advantages in defense, Hitler ordered that the ground was to be held at all costs. And the costs were indeed high. On 15 Mar the Seventh Army attacked, and the Third Army launched a simultaneous attack from the north in the direction of Worms. This southward move by the Third Army was not expected by the German commanders, who thought they would attempt to penetrate the Rhine defenses via the breach at Remagen. Several days later, the French First Army which had secured the Colmar region earlier moved north to assist in the Saar Basin. The region was secured on 23 Mar.
On 25 Mar 1945, all significant German resistance on the western banks of the Rhine ceased.
What was impressive with the operations to secure the western bank of the Rhine was not the crushing Allied maneuvers, but rather how they were conducted. The coordination between the armies of two major powers and other nations were as seamless as it could be consider their differing philosophies and goals. Even within the American salient, the fluidity of the army components, as demonstrated by the quickness to shift manpower from the VII Corps at Cologne to the III Corps near Remagen, proved Hitler wrong of what the German dictator thought of the armies of a democracy. Hitler, as recently as the Ardennes Offensive, thought that Eisenhower was nothing more than a puppet of Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, reporting every move back to Washington and London. Unlike Hitler's thoughts, Eisenhower at the frontlines was able to make quick decisions on the field to take advantage of even the small windows of opportunities that presented themselves during the action. "Happening to be on the spot at the moment, I authorized appropriate boundary adjustments, specifying particularly close interarmy liaison", Eisenhower recalled. "This involved also the transfer of an armored division from the Seventh to the Third Army. The insignificance of this slight change illustrates the accuracy with which staffs had calculated the probabilities."
This advance also saw the start of a new problem: prisoners. At this stage of the war, the Allied forces were encountered with over 10,000 prisoners of war each day. This problem eventually turned out to be yet another Allied achievement that attributed to the superb organization skills of the logistics officers, who processed these prisoners efficiently without disrupting the frontline combat.
Sources: Canadian Military Headquarters Historical Section Report No 181, Crusade in Europe.
Advance to the Rhine Timeline
2 Nov 1944 In accordance with Dwight Eisenhower's plan, Bernard Montgomery ordered a complete redeployment of his Army Group in Europe. First Canadian Army now assumed responsibility for the front from the sea to the Reichsward near Kleve in Germany, whilst Second British Army was ordered to clear the Germans west of the Maas River from the huge pocket between Venray and Roermond in the Netherlands, and then to take over the American front north of Geilenkirchen in Germany known as the Heinberg Salientl.
14 Jan 1945 Operation Blackcock: British forces cleared the Roer Triangle in Germany, which was known for dams that powered the German industry.
29 Jan 1945 Allied troops captured Oberhausen, Germany in the Rhine river basin.
1 Feb 1945 US First Army captured Remscheid in Germany, east of Düsseldorf. On the same day, US Seventh Army reached the Moder River and the Siegfried Line/Westwall.
2 Feb 1945 French troops captured Colmar, France.
9 Feb 1945 British and Canadian troops forced their way through a main Siegfried Line/Westwall defensive zone. Meanwhile, half of German 19.Armee was evacuated back into Germany before the final Rhine River bridge in the Colmar Pocket in France was blown.
12 Feb 1945 British and Canadian forces captured Kleve, Germany.
14 Feb 1945 British and Canadian troops reached the Rhine River northwest of Duisberg, Germany.
17 Feb 1945 US Third Army penetrated the Siegfried Line/Westwall and launched massive assault into German territory.
19 Feb 1945 Units of the US 8th Division began encircling German troops trapped within the Siegfried Line/Westwall.
20 Feb 1945 George Patton wrote to Omar Bradley, urging Bradley to convince Dwight Eisenhower to allow Bradley's army group to attack aggressively toward the Rhine River.
25 Feb 1945 Omar Bradley gave George Patton the authority to make advances toward the Rhine River.
28 Feb 1945 US Ninth Army achieved breakthrough near Erkelenz, Germany.
1 Mar 1945 US Ninth Army captured cities of München-Gladback and Rheydt in Germany. On the same day, Dwight Eisenhower approved the commencement of Operation Lumberjack.
2 Mar 1945 Elements of US Ninth Army reached the Rhine River at Neuss, Germany. To the north US Third Army captures Trier, Germany.
3 Mar 1945 Canadian troops captured Xanten, Germany while US First Army captured Krefeld, Germany.
5 Mar 1945 Patrols from US First Army reached outskirts of Köln, Germany.
6 Mar 1945 US Third Army reached the Rhine River near Koblenz, Germany, while US First Army captured Köln.
7 Mar 1945 US 9th Armored Division unexpectedly captured Rhine River bridge and formed a bridgehead on the east side of the river at Remagen, Germany.
8 Mar 1945 In Germany, US troops entered Bonn while British and Canadian troops entered Xanten.
9 Mar 1945 US Third Army captured Andernach, Germany.
10 Mar 1945 The Germans evacuated Wesel as US Third Army captured Bonn.
11 Mar 1945 US Third Army captured Kochem, Germany.
12 Mar 1945 US Third Army crossed Moselle River near Koblenz, Germany.
13 Mar 1945 Operation Undertone: US 3rd and 7th Armies advanced toward Rhine River.
15 Mar 1945 US First Army was unable to further expand the Remagen bridgehead in Germany due to enemy resistance.
17 Mar 1945 The bridge at Remagen, Germany, which had served the Allies so well, collapsed after repeated being bombed by German Ar 234 jet bombers. Twenty-eight American engineers trying to strengthen the structure were swept away to their deaths. Meanwhile, US Third Army captured Koblenz, Germany.
18 Mar 1945 US Third Army captured Boppard, Germany.
19 Mar 1945 US Seventh Army captured Worms, Germany.
20 Mar 1945 US Seventh Army captured Saarbrücken, Germany while the US Third Army reached Mainz, Germany.
21 Mar 1945 US First Army advanced toward Siegburg, Germany.
