Charles Stratton was born on May 14, 1930, in Medford, Massachusetts. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on September 1, 1948, and after completing basic training he was trained as a Field Telephone specialist with the Signal Battalion at Camp Pendleton, California, from February to May 1949. CPL Stratton was assigned to Headquarters Company, Service Battalion, at MCS Quantico, Virginia, from May 1949 to June 1950, and then with Marine Barracks, U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from June 1950 to July 1952. His final assignment was with the 2nd Signal Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, from July 1952 until he was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps on August 31, 1952. Charles Stratton died on October 15, 1988, and was buried in New Orleans, Louisiana.