Sergeant Saunders -- Unofficial Biography

Name: Charles(?) "Chip" Saunders
Rank: Sergeant
Age: ~25 ["The Letter"]
DOB: ~1920
Blood Type: O+ ["The Wounded Don't Cry"]
Home Town: Illinois ["Masquerade"] or Cleveland, Ohio ["Just for the Record"]
Family:

• Mother - living ["Just for the Record", "The Letter"]
• Father - deceased [lack of mention in "Just for the Record", "The Letter"]
• Sister - Louise ("The Brat"), age ~15 ["Just for the Record"]
• Brother #1 - Chris, age ~17, enlisted in army 1945 ["The Letter"]
• Brother #2 - ???, age 18-24, Marine Corps in the Pacific ["Mail Call"]
• Brother #3 - Joey, <= 24, possibly deceased as child ["Survival] (Note: Brother #2 and #3 could be same person)

Military Record:

• Serial #: 227-06-22 ["Survival" and others] [See note 1]
• Participated in North Africa campaign ["A Day in June"]
• Fought and was wounded in Italy (rank: Corporal?, decorations: Purple Heart, possibly others) ["A Day in June"]
• Fought in D-Day invasion, at Omaha Beach (rank: Sergeant) ["A Day in June" +others]

History:

[ In "The Letter", young Private Jim Hummel reminds Saunders of his own kid brother, Chris. Jim gives some biographical information on his older brother Charles who was killed at Normandy. This information seems consistent with Saunders' own background, and it is implicit that Saunders finds it all very familiar (e.g. Charles was 8 years older than Jim, had "helped raise" him after their father died, etc.). This information is assumed in Saunders biography, mainly in estimating his age at 25, and in concluding that he was the oldest child... Most of the other details below are pure speculation, but shouldn't contradict any information available in aired episodes. ]

Saunders was born in the Midwest, and is the oldest of 4 (or 5) children. His father died when Saunders was about 12, and "Chip" took on the responsibility of supporting the family and helping to raise his younger brothers and sister. He worked part time during high school, and after he graduated he went to work full time (probably in a factory or construction job - a likely occupation in the midwest). As a youngster, Saunders dabbled in magic tricks ["The Furlough", "The Long Way Home"].

Saunders has claimed to be both from Illinois ["Masquerade"] and Cleveland ["Just for the Record"]. One possible explanation is that he was born in Illinois, but that the family moved to Cleveland sometime after his father's death. Another explanation is that he is from the small town of Cleveland, Illinois (yes, there really is a Cleveland, Illinois).

Saunders enlisted in the Army soon after Pearl Harbor (early 1942). During his 3 months of basic training, his leadership and tactical abilities were recognized. He went on to advanced infantry training, and was promoted to the rank of Corporal.

In early 1943, Saunders and his unit were shipped to Algiers in North Africa. The unit were mainly assigned to security and defensive positions, so their fighting in Africa was limited. This left plenty of time for Saunders to build a reputation for carousing and partying when he was off-duty. These activities found Saunders teetering on the edge of disciplinary action on more than one occasion [2].

In June 1943, his unit was pulled out of Africa in preparation for the invasion of Italy. After several more months of preparation and waiting, Saunders finally saw his first real action, during the invasion of Salerno in September, 1943.

Saunders fought in several battles in Italy over the next few months, and was rapidly transformed into a veteran soldier; if he lost his stripes during his hijinks in North Africa, he quickly got them back in Italy. In a battle near San Pietro, in late December 1943, his squad was pinned down in fire-fight, and the squad leader was killed. Cpl. Saunders took over the squad and completed the mission, despite being seriously wounded. Among the other survivors in this action was the squad's BAR man, Grady Long.

Saunders was shipped to England to recover from his injuries, and was out of action for several months. When he recovered, he was re-assigned to the 361st -- a unit of mostly green troops who were preparing for the invasion of France. Saunders was also awarded a Purple Heart, promoted to the rank of Sergeant, and assigned as a Squad Leader.

Joining Saunders in K Company were Platoon Sergeant Gil Hanley, and Saunders' friend from his old unit in Italy, Grady Long (though Grady wasn't assigned to Saunders' squad until after D-Day).

During the long pre-invasion wait in England, Saunders had more opportunity for some off-duty carousing, an activity in which he was sometimes joined by Hanley. The two became friends, though Hanley didn't hesitate to pull rank on Saunders occasionally -- despite the fact that the clean-cut Hanley was the less-experienced one of the pair.

After several months of waiting, D-Day (June 6th, 1944) finally arrived. When their platoon leader, Lieutenant Crowley, was killed soon after Omaha Beach, Hanley took his place, and was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. Hanley's replacement as Platoon Sergeant was Tech. Sgt. Avery -- a hardened veteran who would make quite an impression on Saunders in the next few weeks, before he went MIA at St Lo ["A Gift of Hope"]. Hanley reassigned Grady Long to Saunders' squad, but Grady was killed a few weeks later ["Far from the Brave"].

From here, we have the events as aired in the series.... Enough action to provide five years of episodes, even though the fighting in France and Germany lasted only about a year.

Notes:

1) Saunders gives his serial number as "12078299" in "Dateline," but the number given in "Survival" is the first reference to it, and this number is used consistently in at least one other episode, so I've selected the 227-06-22 number as the official one..