Charles LeGard was born in Cleveland, Tennessee. He graduated from Bradley Central High School in 1935. LeGarde was voted “Most Old-Fashioned Senior” during his last year there.

LeGarde joined the Navy where he became an Electricians Mate First Class. He was stationed on the USS Mayo. The USS Mayo became a part of the 8th Fleet, stationed in the Mediterranean Sea in August of 1943. The job of this fleet was to give fire and antiaircraft protection to the beach at Salerno, Italy, which it did on September 8, 1943 and January 22-23, 1944.

At 8:01 pm on January 24, 1945, there was a sudden explosion on the ship, possibly due to hitting a mine. This explosion killed seven men (including Charles LeGarde), injured 25, and nearly broke the destroyer in half. The USS Mayo survived the attack and was towed to Naples to be patched, then went to New York to be repaired. The ship was decommissioned in 1946, stricken from the US Navy Register in 1971, and sold for scrap in 1972.