Charles Edward Gradoville

Charles Edward Gradoville was raised in Cedar Rapids and graduated from Regis Catholic High School in the class of 1965. He was a batboy for the local Cedar Rapids semi-professional baseball team. Later he attended Mason City Junior College for one year. Gradoville then joined the Marine Corps in 1966 and was sent to Vietnam in the spring of 1967. He was assigned to the 3rd Marine Division as a rifleman and was stationed near the demilitarized zone (DMZ). LCPL Gradoville’s unit participated in Operation Cimarron outside of Con Thien near the North and South Vietnam border. He was killed on June 16, 1967 during Cimarron on Hill 158. He died as a result of fragmentation wounds to the head from an enemy explosive. His parents buried their 19 year old son at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Cedar Rapids.