Charles Himmler served in the U.S. Army Air Force as a First Lieutenant pilot in the 824th Bomb Squadron, 484th Bomb Group, 49th Bomb Wing, 15th Army Air Force during World War II. He went missing in action on December 17, 1944 when his plane was shot down in a raid over Sternberg, Czechoslovakia. He was officially declared dead on December 18, 1945. He received the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Clusters and a Presidential Unit Citation.