​                                Charles Alexander Christie               History  
                          ​ Dartmouth Police Officer killed in the line of duty 1966
​
    Charles Alexander Christie was born in New Bedford on June 17, 1891, to Joseph Christie (1861-1946) and the former Mary Boland (1866-1914). The couple raised seven children: Laura, George, Joseph, William, Charles, Levi, and Agnes. The family home was initially located on Cove Road in New Bedford. Eventually, they moved to a one-family home at 11 Buttonwood Road in Dartmouth, where Charles would reside for the remainder of his life.
​
      Charles, who was 23 when his mother died, completed the 8th grade and then went to work for the Town of Dartmouth’s Water Department. He registered for the draft on June 5, 1917, just days before his 26th birthday. He enlisted on October 4 and was assigned to Company K of the 326th Infantry, one of four regiments within the United States Army’s 82nd Division, which had been activated at the end of August. They underwent their initial training at Camp Gordon near Atlanta, Georgia, and were transferred to Camp Upton in New York in April of 1918 to prepare for their assignment in France: trench warfare.  
​
     The 326th Regiment reached the French port of Le Havre on May 17, 1918, and were soon sent into battle. For their first combat assignment, they were ordered to relieve the 101st Infantry Regiment in the Toul section of France.
       On August 4, 1918, the men of the 326th advanced behind a German artillery barrage to capture three machine guns and eliminate approximately 75 enemy soldiers. In September, they held their ground in the battle of Saint-Mihiel despite being subjected to deadly mustard gas from the German Army. The regiment also took part in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, a 10-day battle that proved to be the last major offensive of World War I, involving 1.2 million American soldiers. The forces sustained heavy casualties and Corporal Charles Christie was among them. He was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds received in battle. After the Armistice with Germany was signed on November 11, 1918, the 326th remained in France for five months before returning home in April of 1919. They were demobilized at Camp Mills, New York. Charles Christie’s 326th Regiment served in active operations longer (and without relief) than any other unit. 

   Two (2) of the Christie brothers served in World War I. Older brother, George was a mechanic in the Army Coast Artillery Corps and younger brother William was a Private in Company A of the 25th Engineers Regiment.

    After the War, Charles returned to his job at the Dartmouth Water Department where he was appointed foreman in 1920. His older brother, Joseph, had been serving on the Dartmouth Board of Health since 1915, and became a police officer in town in 1922. Joseph served as the departments third police chief from 1927-1931.  Police Chief Joseph Christie died suddenly at his Dartmouth Street home in January of 1938 at the age of 47.  A veteran of the Dartmouth police force and served 23 years on the Board of Health. At the time of Joseph's death, his younger brother, Levi, was also in public service as a member of the Board of Selectmen.

     Charles joined the police department as an unpaid (private-paid) officer in 1923 and became a regular officer in the Dartmouth Police Department in 1926.  From 1931-1933, Charles served as a Special Officer to the Town of Dartmouth while also being employed as a guard at the Ash Street House of Correction. Charles, who never married, was still living with his father, his brother, Levi, and their sister, Agnes.
​
      When the United States entered World War II in December of 1941, Charles was still working at the Ash Street jail, and despite his advanced age of 50, he still registered for the draft. This time he was not pressed into service.

      After the death of his father, in 1946, Charlie returned to the ranks of the Dartmouth Police as a Reserve Officer from 1948 to 1952. During this period, he also owned and operated a small package store "Christie's Package Store", located on Cove Road, for a time. In 1953, at age 62, he became an Intermittent Officer for the Town of Dartmouth and would continue in this role for the remainder of his life.

     Despite being 75 years old, Charles continued working as a Dartmouth Police Officer. On August 18, 1966, his assignment was directing traffic during the construction of Interstate 195.  On Thursday, August 18, at 4:25 PM, Officer Christie was directing traffic at Reed Road and I-195 when he was hit and run over by a construction truck. Dartmouth Police Officer Joseph Oliveira, who investigated the accident, determined that Officer Christie was on the “blind side” of the truck, that is, the right side-farthest from the driver’s view, when the incident occurred. An ambulance was called to the scene and Officer Christie was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford where he died of his injuries at 7:10 that evening. Officer Christie was buried alongside his brothers and his parents at St. Mary’s Cemetery. 

​National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial (2022) 
     On October 25, 2022, the Dartmouth Police Department submitted an application on behalf of Officer Christie to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, located at Judiciary Square, adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Museum, honors over 23,000 United States law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.
​
​   On November 16 2022 The National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial approved Officer Charles Christie's application. His name was engraved in the wall and announced at the Candlelight Vigil in May 13, 2023. 

 ​       Officer Jason Arruda aggressively spearheaded the Washington D.C. portion of our history project. Thanks to his incredible efforts, calls to Washington D.C., chasing down documents and getting the proper paperwork signed and approved – the results were a success!