Charles Mchenry Banks

Mr. Charles McHenry Banks, 97, died Thursday, October 12, 2017 at Rainey Hospice House in Anderson, SC.The family will receive friends Tuesday, October 17, 2017 from 12:30 PM until 1:45 PM in the social hall of First Baptist Church of Chester with a 2:00 PM funeral service following in the church Sanctuary.Interment will follow at Beaver Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, 8380 Ashford Ferry Road, Carlisle, SC 29031. Born July 28, 1920, in Chester, SC, Mr. Banks was a son of the late Charlie McDowell Banks and Nettie Gertrude Black Banks.He was a graduate of Blackstock High School and a veteran of the US Army Air Force and was retired from the South Carolina Department of Transportation as shop supervisor.Mr. Mack was a member of First Baptist Church of Chester and a former member of Beaver Creek Baptist Church having servedboth as Sunday School Teacher for over fifty-two years,a Deacon and R.A. Leader.He was a past Men’s Ministry Director for over thirty-five years, a leader in Disaster Relief and Brotherhood Builders, now referred to as Men’s Ministry, on both local and state levels.He was also involved with American Red Cross and Young Farmers of America.Mr. Banks was an avid gardener and Clemson Fan. Mr. Banks entered the US Army Air Force on August 20, 1942.He left Ft. Jackson, South Carolina to travel to Camp Walters, Texas, Ft. Benning, Georgia then to Boston before heading on to Iceland, England, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany.Charlie McHenry was a vital member of the top secret Radio Airplane Target Unit.Their mission was to fly training exercises for the anti-aircraft gunners to become more proficient in shooting down enemy aircraft.The radio controlled plane was top secret so no pictures were allowed to be taken, but when it was shot down by our gunners, McHenry had to rebuild it and get it ready for the next training mission.His talent for servicing engines was also used to keep the vehicles in his squad operating properly.McHenry had a close call January 10, 1945 in Belgium when a bomb was dropped on a farm house they were occupying.He still has shrapnel in his head and neck from the injury he suffered.For that injury, Mack was awarded the Purple Heart. Mr.Banks also received the Eamet Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars, a good conduct medal and a victory medal. Mr. Banks was preceded in death by his wife of over sixty-three years, Agnes Roberts Banks, three sisters and one brother. He is survived by two sons, Charles M. Banks and his wife Karen of Gaffney, SC and Michael W. Banks and wife Julia of Anderson, SC; one daughter, Trudie Banks Gilbert and her husband Dale of Greenville, SC; seven grandchildren; nine great grandchildren; one brother, William Banks of Fort Mill, SC; two sisters, Mary Alice Lewis of Charlotte, NC and Nettie Lea Shannon of Fort Mill, SC. Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church of Chester,PO Box 518, Chester, SC 29706.