Our dear "Poppy", CHARLES AUGUST DINGER, JR. , 83, of Rochelle Park and Toms River passed away Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2004 peacefully after a brief illness.

 

Born and raised in the Bronx, Charlie met his loving wife, Betty, at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in the Bronx in the 30's when they were just in their teens.  They were married there on June 13, 1943. They lived in Rochelle Park for 55 years before moving to Holiday City-Berkeley in June 2004.

Charlie went through four years of Machinist's Apprentice school at R. Hoe & Co. in the Bronx (interrupted by his military service) and worked for them for 29 years.  He was chief estimator, retiring in 1984 from another printing press manufacturer, Man-Roland.  R. Hoe & Co. was a family to most people who worked there.  Although the company went out of business in the 1980's, former employees still get together  to catch up and recall old times.       

130th BATTALION     COMPANY B    PLATOON 5

Camp Peary, Williamsburg, VA-1943
Naval Construction Battalion Center, Camp Endicott, R. I.
Camp Thomas Naval Advance Base Depot, Davisville, R.I.,1943
USS Frederick Funston
Oahu, Hawaii-1944
USS President Johnson
Saipan- 1945
USS Hunterdon County (LST-838)
Okinawa-1945

1943-1945   Charlie was very proud to have served in the U.S. Navy Seabees during World War II.  "The Seabees played a key role in the last big operation of the island war, the seizure of Okinawa. The main invasion forces landed on Okinawa's west coast on Easter Sunday, 1 April 1945.  The fighting was heavy and prolonged, and organized resistance did not cease until July,1945.  Okinawa now became a giant air and naval base (built by The Seabees) destined to play a major role in the planned invasion of Japan. British observers spoke of the Battle for Okinawa as "... the most audacious and complex enterprise ... yet undertaken by the American Amphibious Forces... more ships were used, more troops put ashore, more supplies transported, more bombs dropped, more naval guns fired against shore targets" than any other operation in the Pacific. "

"Commissioned at Peary, the 130th NCB received further training at Endicott, shipping from adjacent Camp Thomas for Hawaii in February 1944. At the end of that year, the Battalion was preparing to move forward, and two survey detachments left Hawaii. On Jan. 18, 1945, the outfit embarked and arrived in Saipan early the following month to join the Second Marine Division for the Okinawa invasion. Detachments were assigned to strengthen a Marine Pioneer (engineering) Battalion. The 130th was in Okinawa at war's end.

The Seabees' task on Okinawa was truly immense. On this agrarian island, whose physical facilities a fierce bombardment had all but destroyed, they built ocean ports, a grid of roads, bomber and fighter fields, a seaplane base, quonset villages, tank farms, storage dumps, hospitals, and ship repair facilities.

Nearly 55,000 Seabees, organized into four brigades, participated in Okinawa construction operations. By the beginning of August 1945, sufficient facilities, supplies, and manpower were at hand to mount an invasion of the Japanese home islands."

Charlie went into the Navy as a machinist, but the Navy reassigned him as a carpenter's mate.   His carpentry experience in the Navy served him well when he was discharged. After buying their house in Rochelle Park, he built a garage, a screened-in porch, and finished the attic and basement.

He was a life member of the American Legion, Rochelle Park; a life member of the VFW, Paramus; and a member of NNJ N-TRAK (Northern New Jersey N-trak, which is a model train association). Charlie spent his leisure time setting up an extensive set of N-Gauge trains. His train club participated in exhibitions at The World Trade Center, Liberty State Park and Rahway Convention Center.