Charles S Aldinger

Charles S. Aldinger passed away June 27, 2022, at his home in Washington, D.C.

Charlie was born and raised in Charleston, S.C. His curiosity and love of storytelling developed during his years there, and he exemplified the best of southern charm, including gracious manners, a love of grits, and a fondness for bow ties.

He turned his love of storytelling into a 50-year career in journalism. His early days as a cub reporter for the Charleston News and Courier introduced him to seasoned colleagues who taught him essentials of reporting and writing.

From there, he moved to United Press International (UPI) as a wire service reporter. He was on the UPI desk in 1963, when news of shots being fired in Dallas came across the teletype. He reported on race riots in the south, earthquakes in South America as well as  assignments including the Hill and State Department in Washington, D.C. One night while on the desk, he answered the phone to find Idi Amin on the other end.

The last 25 years of his career were spent covering the Pentagon for Reuters News Agency, where he became  dean of the Pentagon press corps. He traveled the world with seven defense secretaries spanning from Casper Weinberger to Donald Rumsfeld. He was at the Pentagon on 9/11 reporting from the plane crash site describing the chaos and horror of that day.

Charlie often described his experiences as having a front row seat to history. He had an uncanny ability to see the truth and to understand human nature and man’s use of power.

After his retirement, he told stories of his adventures to his family and friends with humor and insight. He remained a story teller until the end.

Charlie is survived by his wife Meg Carnes of Washington, DC, brother Thomas of Benicia, CA; mother-in-law Rita Carnes and brother and sisters-in-law James Carnes, Celeste Carnes and Debra Carnes. He is also survived by nieces and nephews John (Martha) Carnes, Thomas  (Melissa) Carnes, Katherine (Karl) LaGray, Elizabeth (Ron) Bonaccorso and James A. Carnes as well as grand nieces and nephews: Cassidy, Kayla, Mary, Jack, Eileen, Shannon, Pete, Andrew, Parker, Charlie and Colin.

A funeral mass will be held on July 6, 2022, at 11 a.m. at Unity Acres.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in memory of Charlie to Unity Acres, P.O. Box 153, Orwell, NY,  13426 or to the charity of your choice. 
 

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