Charles Evans Kilbourne was born on December 23, 1872, in Arlington, Virginia. Kilbourne was a career military officer and Medal of Honor recipient. During World War I, he served stateside on the army's General Staff for much of 1917. In 1918, he deployed overseas for combat duty on the British and French fronts. Kilbourne retired from the army in 1936 with the rank of major general. He died in Washington, D.C., on November 12, 1963.