Charles Bernard Goldstein was born on May 8, 1915 in New York. He resided in the District Of Columbia prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army on March 2, 1943 in New York City, New York. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being Single, with dependents. Charles served as a Technical Sergeant and Radio Operator on B-17G #44-8437, 563rd Bomber Squadron, 388th Bomber Group, Heavy, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

Charles was "Killed In Action" when his B-17 was shot down by German flak and crashed near Prum, Germany during the war. Goldstein, Prokop and Hammond, who apparently had been aboard a different bomber, were picked up by the police in Hanau and turned over to the Gestapo, or the Secret State Police of the Nazi regime.

While questioning the men, Gestapo director Hermann Fehrle discovered Goldstein was Jewish and became enraged, according to one account. He cursed and slapped the airman, calling him a murderer before ordering a subordinate to have all three Americans shot. About 90 minutes later, the men were brought to a courtyard and executed one after the other. The three German nationals subsequently convicted of war crimes for killing the unarmed prisoners all told their tribunals they knew their actions were wrong but believed they would be killed if they did not carry out the executions.

After their deaths, Goldstein and other airmen were initially buried in Hanau before their bodies were exhumed in the summer of 1945 and reinterred at the Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold, France. Prokop’s remains were repatriated and buried at Cathedral Cemetery four years later.

Technical Sergeant Goldstein was one of the many brave Americans of the 388th Bomber Group who lost their lives in aerial operations against the German forces from June 1943 - August 1945.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov