Charles D. Dowell was born on May 29, 1925 to Charles and Nancy Dowell who then lived in West Virginia. As a farm laborer his father moved the family from state to state. In 1940, the family lived in New London Township, Pennsylvania. Charles was third of seven children.
Charles entered the Army in 1948. At that time, Charles was living with his sister, Hazel, and her husband in Oxford where he was working in the mushroom industry.