CHARLES WILLIAM LONG's Obituary
Charles William Long
Charles, 103, passed away on March 12th in New Market, Virginia. He was born May 8th, 1919 at home in Kingston, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Margaret and Charles Long, Sr., the youngest and only son with three older sisters. Charles grew up in Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, part of a hard coal region in northeastern, Pennsylvania.
Charles left home in 1939 for a job with the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C. In December 1942 Charles was inducted into the army. After basic training and Machine Records Training he joined The Second Signal Service Battalion ( HQ/ Signal Intelligence). In July of 1943 he was shipped “Over there” to England after a zig-zag course (avoiding Nazi U-boats).
Charles worked on IBM machines in the basement of a building in London. He met Vera, his future wife, in 1944 at an American Red Cross Club in London. After six months in London, Charles and the IBM machines were moved to France. Charles and Vera were married at St. James Church in London, in October of 1945.
Charles returned home with his unit but without Vera. In 1946 Vera, a WWII Pilgrim Bride, sailed on the Queen Mary to America, sanctioned by a special act of Congress. Charles and Vera lived in Washington, D.C. and Charles returned to school at George Washington University. Charles and Vera settled in Maryland, and then Vienna, Virginia where they raised four children. Charles worked for the CIA designing and managing IBM computer tracking systems around the world. During the Cold War he was involved in photo interpretation of overhead reconnaissance photography. He also pursued the development and application of a computerized system for storing and retrieving Top Secret documents.
Charles retired in 1975, but continued to work on a contract basis for the next two years. At the age of 85 Charles and Vera moved to a retirement condo in Leesburg, Virginia. Later they moved to an assisted living home in New Market, Virginia. Charles is survived by sons Malcolm Long and Derek Long; daughters Gini Curcia and Cindi Adams; six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. His beautiful wife of 75 years, Vera Cracknell of Essex England, passed away October 6, 2020.
A Celebration of Life Event will be held on Saturday, May 20th at Clyde's Willow Creek Farm,
42920 Broadlands Boulevard, Broadlands, VA, from 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm.
A graveside service will be held for Mr. and Mrs. Long on Friday August 9, 2024 at 10:00AM at Arlington National Cemetery, 1 Memorial Drive, Arlington, VA 22211.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to American Red Cross https://tinyurl.com/redcross-cvl
Share condolences with the family www.LoudounFuneralChapel.com
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