Charles Keller

Charles Keller (February 13, 1868 – September 16, 1949) was a United States Army Brigadier General and businessman.

Early life Charles Keller was born in Rochester, New York, on February 13, 1868, the son of Isaac and Fanny Keller. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy from New York.

Military service

Keller graduated from the academy second of fifty-four in the class of 1890 and was commissioned a second lieutenant (ASN: O-331) in the United States Army Corps of Engineers. From 1894 to 1898, he was assigned to Rock Island, Illinois.

In 1898, Keller was in charge of torpedo defence in the harbors of Charleston and Port Royal, South Carolina and later temporarily assigned to Rock Island again. From 1901 to 1903, he was in charge of improvements of rivers and harbors on the east shore of Lake Michigan near Grand Rapids. From 1916 to 1918, he served as Assistant to the Chief of Engineers and Chief of the Miscellaneous Civil Section in the Office of the Chief of Engineers.

In November 1940, he was recalled to active duty to serve as district engineer for Chicago, Illinois, until October 1943. In November 1943, he retired for a second time.

When he retired in 1943 he was 75 years old, the oldest Army officer to serve on active duty during World War II.

Post military service He worked for the Byllesby Engineering and Management Corporation serving as an engineering consultant and later principal assistant vice president in charge of engineering. He later became the director and president of one of its operating subsidiaries.

Personal life In 1897, Keller married Frances Rosenfield and they had two sons, Ira C. and Charles Jr. After retirement, he lived in Mundelein, Illinois. and his ashes were interred at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia on September 29, 1949.

Awards and decorations For his service in the First World War he was decorated with the Army Distinguished Service Medal and the French Legion of Honour. After his second retirement he was decorated with the Legion of Merit for his service in the Second World War.