Avenue of Heroes: Charles C. Yanquell

Prepared by: Julie Viera (daughter)

Captain Charles C. Yanquell was born in 1893 and volunteered for duty in the 5th Ohio Infantry in April 1917. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Reserve and served as Platoon Leader in Company G, 4th U.S. Infantry, 3rd Division, from 1918 to 1919. During World War I, he fought on the front lines in seven major battles in France.

After the war, he earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the Medical College of Western Reserve in 1924. In 1927, he resigned from his Army reserve commission to accept a Navy commission as a LTJG, Medical Corps. His World War I victory ribbon with seven stars was quite a curiosity on his Navy uniform. He was a plank owner on the USS Lexington in the late 1920s and later served as a Flight Surgeon on the USS Yorktown from 1940 to 1942 in several South Pacific battles.

Dr. Yanquell was the first Navy Flight Surgeon to go to sea on the USS Lexington. Many pioneer aviators on that ship went on to become Admirals who won World War II in the Pacific. Dr. Yanquell treated them, flew with them at every chance, and later wrote “Practicing with the Aviators,” which was published in Naval Institute Proceedings.

He held many senior staff billets, including on Commander in Chief Pacific staff, Commander Cruiser Destroyer staff, and Marine Corps Air Stations. From 1929 to 1932, he served at the Naval Academy preselecting midshipmen for aviation. In 1951, he commanded the Naval Hospital at Coco Solo, Canal Zone.

To honor his retirement in 1954, 5,000 Marines passed in review for him on the Recruit Depot’s parade deck. Dr. Yanquell loved Coronado Island since he first saw it in 1928. He and his wife frequently enjoyed an after-dinner drive down the Strand and back. In 1983, at the age of 90, he died in an automobile accident on the Strand when their car, driven by his wife of 56 years, was hit head-on by a driver who had an epileptic seizure and lost control. Dr. Yanquell lived a full life of honor and service.

The Avenue of Heroes military service recognition program is sponsored by the City of Coronado. Introduced in 2014, the program has honored 261 hometown heroes to date. On May 18, 2024, another 16 were honored. City staff and volunteers from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2422, the Coronado Historical Association and Third and Fourth Streets Neighborhood Association oversee its operation.

In 2011, the program was inspired spontaneously with the movement of two Navy SEALs to their final resting place. News spread quickly and the local Rotary Club passed out American flags. People lined Fourth Street to honor the fallen service members. As the procession approached the Coronado Bridge, a lone Navy SEAL stood at attention, saluting as he waited for the passage of his comrades. That moment made clear that Third and Fourth streets were already an Avenue of Heroes.

That spontaneous beginning launched the program in May 2015 with 18 banners. The Avenue of Heroes is a reminder that Coronado has a rich history and legacy of service to the country.