Charlie Mitsuo Horiye's Obituary
Charlie Horiye – SAN DIEGO – On Thursday, December 11, 2025, Charlie Mitsuo Horiye passed away. Born in Holtville, CA (Imperial Valley) on August 13, 1928 to Tsunekichi and Shizuka, he was the fourth eldest of ten children. He spent a portion of his childhood at the Japanese-American internment camp in Poston, Arizona and grew up with a passion for all things sports, especially, basketball, football and bowling. He often recounted his days playing for the PaceMakers – intramural Japanese American basketball team.
He graduated from San Diego High School in 1947 and then began working in Central California as a truck crop farmer. Charlie was drafted by the US Army in June 1952 as a Private First Class in the Sixth Army and released in June 1954 under the Release Act Military Service. His basic training at Fort Ord, CA included 6th Infantry Division Specialty Training School where he spent 13 months in a VIP Transportation Corp serving in the Texas Corp 8th Army Division as a Lieutenant Vehicle Driver. He also traveled overseas and served in the Korean War.
He was honored to be a Korean Veteran. In recognition of this service, Charlie received several decorated honors: National Defense Service Medal; Korean Service Medal with 2 Bronze service stars; United Nations Service Medal; and the Meritorious Unit Citation: General Orders (GO) No. 680 issued by the 8th US Army that formally awarded and recognized service during the Korean War. One of his most memorable assignments during the Korean War was when he was responsible for driving VIPs, including Raymond Burr, Piper Laurie, and Colonel Edwards. He also met Marilyn Monroe during her 4-day USO Tour. He often spoke fondly of his service in the US Army and the lasting friendships made. One of Charlie’s happiest days was in 1997 when he met up in person with his Army buddies after not having seen them for 43 years.
After the military, Charlie continued farming until 1962. In 1965, he began working in the grocery business, a combined 27 years with Safeway and Vons. He married Kiyoko (Mayeda) in April 1966. Charlie was a devoted and loving son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, and friend, willing to help anyone. Charlie is survived by his son, Joseph and his wife, Vicki; his daughter, Nancy; grandson, Carter; his sisters Anna Ito, Sumi Yanagihara, and Tsune Hashiguchi; and brothers Handy Horiye and Isao Horiye. He enjoyed all the time spent with Carter, at an early age, into the young man he has become. He was preceded in death by his wife Kiyoko and daughter Karen; brothers, Shizuo (T-Bone) and Sadao (Ben), and sisters, Emiko Ito and Hideko (Hedy) Fleischer.
Funeral services will be held at Salli Lynn Chapel at Greenwood Memorial Park & Mortuary with a burial to follow at Mount Hope Cemetery. Please sign the online Guest Book at https://www.greenwoodmemorial.com/obits/charlie-horiye
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