Pararescue Creed It is my duty as a Pararescueman to save life and to aid the injured. I will be prepared at all times to perform my assigned duties quickly and efficiently, placing these duties before personal desires and comforts. These things I do, "That Others May Live."

Synopsis

On Christmas Eve, 1968, an F-105, call sign "Panda 01", was shot down over Laos between the city of Ban Phaphilang and the Ban Karai Pass. Its pilot, Major Charles R. Brownlee, successfully ejected and his parachute drifted into an area known to be occupied by enemy troops. These troops had in the past aggressively pursued downed pilots and contested SAR efforts. Two HH-3E's, Jolly Green's 15 and 17, on airborne alert immediately proceeded to the incident site. Upon arrival, the Sandy's placed them in a high orbit. The on-scene commander discovered a parachute in the trees. Numerous attempts were made to raise Major Brownlee on his survival radio. It was late in the day and darkness quickly covered the jungle. There was no survival radio contact from Major Brownlee. The rescue helicopters did not have a night combat rescue capability and were ordered to return to NKP.

A first light SAR was organized to return to the area on Christmas Day. The crew of Jolly low (Jolly 17) were all volunteers: Lt. Col. William Cameron (aircraft commander), Captain Robert Heron (co-pilot), Sergeant Jerome Casey (flight engineer), and A1C Charles D. King (pararescueman). Once again the Jolly's were placed in a high orbit and the Sandy's began trolling for ground fire. Enemy troops did not take the bait. Not drawing any ground fire Sandy lead told Jolly low to attempt a pickup. As the helicopter came into a hover over the parachute, SGT Casey saw a man hanging from the parachute by his harness. The man was not moving and was hanging only a couple of feet off the ground. Sergeant King volunteered to descend on the forest penetrator to rescue the downed pilot. LtCol Camereron was not thrilled about the idea of lowering his PJ to the ground, but realized that it was the only way to rescue Major Brownlee. Just as King reached the ground, enemy troops began firing, first at the helicopter and then at the men on the ground. King freed Major Brownlee from his parachute and secured him to the penetrator. He signaled SGT Casey to reel them up.

Only a few feet off the ground, Charlie King called on the radio, "I'm hit, I'm hit, pull up, pull up." Normally, the men on the penetrator would be hoisted clear of the trees prior to the rescue helicopter resuming forward flight. But enemy troops were hosing the helicopter with effective small arms fire. Staying in the hover until the two men cleared the tree tops would certainly result in the helicopter being shot down, crashing right on top of Major Brownlee and Airman King. Out of options and seriously battle damaged, Lt Col Cameron was forced to leave the stable hover. To optimize the chances of the men on the penetrator, he elected to ascend straight up. He hoped that this maneuver would lift the two men clear of the trees, prior to instituting forward flight. As the helicopter moved up, the hoist cable or the forest penetrator caught on a tree and the hoist cable snapped, dropping King and Brownlee about 10 feet to the ground. Badly injured from the fall and wounded by enemy small arms fire Airman King made one last radio call, "Jolly, get out of here, they're almost on top of me."

The seriously damaged helicopter was forced off the scene due to the intense ground fire. Enemy troops swarmed over Major Brownlee and Airman King. The Sandy's could not fire on the enemy because they would hit their own men.

Two days of searching and numerous radio calls from air rescue aircraft to Airman King went unanswered. He was declared missing in action and later promoted in sequence with other MIA's to Chief Master Sergeant. He was never heard from again. Charles Douglas King was officially declared killed in action on 5 December 1978. He was awarded the Air Force Cross posthumously. King was also awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal and Purple Heart for earlier rescue missions he participated in.

No news surfaced about King or Brownlee until February 1986, when a Lao refugee came to the United States and reported that he had witnessed King's capture, and watched as he was taken away in a truck. The refugee's story matched most details of King's loss incident. Less clear were the details of Brownlee's fate.

In 1993 US officials were allowed into the Central Army Museum in Hanoi, where personal items from American casualties were kept. They found an identification card with Charles Douglas King's name, service number and date of birth. A North Vietnamese witness was found who stated "a pilot was pulling up another pilot to the helicopter when the cable broke. Both pilots died."

The Air Force dedicated a building to the memory of Charlie King at  Hickam AFB, Hawaii .

The following is from an unclassified document released by the Air Force on 27 March 2000:

The identification card belonging to Airman Charles D. King correlates with unresolved priority case 1348. Airman First Class King was a pararescue man who was lost while attempting to rescue a down pilot (unresolved case 1347) near Ban Lathama, Mahaxia District, Khammouan Province, on the morning of 25 December 1968. As Airman King and the unconscious pilot were being hoisted up to the helicopter on a jungle penetrator, enemy forces opened fire, scoring several hits on the helicopter and wounding Airman King. When the helicopter attempted to pull out of the area, the jungle penetrator snagged and the cable broke. Airman King and the pilot fell back to the ground. The intense enemy fire forced the helicopter crew to depart the area without Airman King or the pilot. Subsequent search efforts failed to locate the two men. In December 1992, a U.S. team working at the Armed Forces Museum in Hanoi observed a picture of Airman King's Geneva Conventions card. A join investigation in the Ban Lathaman area during JFA 93-5L produced no information regard case 1348 or proximity case 1347. Airman King is still unaccounted-for.

Who Was Charles Douglas King?

Charlie was one special human being and I, for one, am a better person for having the honor of knowing him. He will always be an inspiration to past, present and future Pararescuemen and to all Americans who wish know a true American hero.

-- Douglas Joseph McGill Jr., USAF PARARESCUE, RETIRED

  
Special thanks to Air Force Magazine for allowing me to use the picture and
article that appeared in the April 1998 issue about enlisted Air Force Cross recipients.

"The Air Force Cross is presented to Charles Douglas King, Airman First Class, U.S. Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an opposing armed force as a Pararescueman in Southeast Asia on 25 December 1968. On that date, Airman King was aboard a helicopter engaged in the recovery of a downed United States Air Force pilot from an extremely hostile area. With complete disregard for his own safety, Airman King voluntarily descended on a rescue hoist more than one hundred feet to the ground to aid the injured pilot. Once on the ground, he carried the rescue device to the pilot, freed him from the parachute, secured him to the rescue device, and then used the cable hoist to drag the pilot to a point near the hovering helicopter. Suddenly, enemy soldiers closed in and directed automatic weapons fire at Airman King, the injured pilot, and the helicopter. Though wounded, Airman King, in an extraordinary display of courage and valor, placed his comrades lives above his own by refusing to continue their exposure to the murderous enemy fire. Without taking time to secure himself to the hoist cable, he radioed that he was hit and for the helicopter to pull away. Airman King made this selfless decision with the full realization that once the helicopter departed, he would be alone, wounded, and surrounded by armed, hostile forces. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of the enemy, Airman King reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force." This is the text of Charles D. King's Air Force Cross award.

From the April 1979 SERGEANTS magazine article about The Air Force Cross:

It was Christmas day in 1968 in Vietnam, but pararescue specialist, A1C Charles D. King wasn't eating the tradition GI turkey dinner. He was in the air in an attempt to rescue a downed pilot from a highly concentrated enemy area.

As soon as the crew spotted the downed pilot, King volunteered for the rescue. After being lowered 100 feet to the wounded pilot, he immediately freed him from his parachute and placed him on the rescue hoist.

Suddenly, both King and the hovering helicopter came under intense enemy fire. King was hit and seriously wounded.

Placing his comrades' lives above his own by resfusing to increase their exposure to the hail of bullets, he told them to pull away. They reluctantly did so.

The young airman made his decision with full realization that once the helicopter departed, he would be left wounded and surrounded by the enemy.

Truly a hero.

Press release dated December 17, 1998, from  Sherry King, Doug King's sister:

Christmas Day 1998 will mark the Thirtieth Year Anniversary of a rescue mission in the jungles of Laos, where a Muscatine, IA native gave his life in an attempt to rescue a downed Air Force pilot, Major Charles R. Brownlee, of Alamosa, CO.

Doug King had only a few weeks left in Vietnam and had his orders to go stateside. It was a dangerous mission that Christmas Day but he volunteered to go. He was trained as a Special Forces Pararescueman for this kind of mission.

For ten years he was listed as missing in action. Every attempt was and still is being made for a full accounting.

In 1993, a delegation of United States Congressmen went to North Vietnam. They, along with the Joint Casualty Resolution Center, were allowed in the Central Army Museum in Hanoi. In that museum, they found a Geneva Convention card with Doug's name, rank, service number, and date of birth. With that card, was an envelope with the same information plus some writing in Vietnamese. The information of the letter indicated that he had been shot and killed that Christmas Day in 1968.

"I think it's important for people who knew and loved him to bring some closer to 30 years of not knowing what had happened. We are more fortunate than some MIA families, as we have some information. Our efforts continue for a full accounting."

During his missing status, he was promoted from Airman First Class to Chief Master Sergeant. He received the Air Medal on July 4, 1968. He was awarded the Air Force Cross, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Silver Star, The Purple Heart and the Air Medal ( First Oak Leaf Cluster) posthumously for his extraordinary heroism. Doug has been recognized and honored for his professional dedication, his courage and valor throughout our nation by the USAF naming a dormitory, King Manor at Andrews AFB, near Washington, D.C., on June 12, 1979. At Scott AFB, Illinois, 1st Street was renamed King Street in his honor on June 28, 1979. On February 27, 1990, a new dormitory was named King Manor at March AFB, California, and on November 15, 1996 at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, building 1856 was dedicated to his memory for paying the ultimate price as a young Pararescueman in South East Asia.

Signed: Sherry L King (sister)

Charles Douglas King
Pre-Vietnam, in service dress uniform (also known as "Combination 1")
Photo courtesy of the Air Force Enlisted Heritage
Research Institute's image library at Maxwell AFB

The Des Moines Register
Saturday, December 26, 1998

Brother's Final Mission Sparks Sister's Memories
by Clayworth Jason

Christmas was more than a holiday to Sherry King of Muscatine. It was 30 years ago on Christmas Day that her brother, Doug, was presumably killed in Laos while attempting to rescue a downed Air Force pilot. Doug King is one of nearly 40 servicemen from Iowa still unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. "I always think about this more around the holidays," King said.

On Christmas Day 1968, King volunteered for what officials say was his final mission. But it wasn't until 1993 that King realized she would never see her brother again. That's when US officials were allowed into the Central Army Museum in Hanoi, where personal items from American casualties were kept. They found an identification card with Doug's name, rank, service number and date of birth and an envelope with a card inside containing the same information, plus Vietnamese writing that indicated when he had been killed. "In some respects, it gives me closure," King said. "If you can believe the information we got, he probably wasn't a prisoner of war."

Doug King was a student at Iowa State University in 1966 when he enlisted in the Air Force. He was 24 when he disappeared. Besides the Air Force Cross, King was awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal and Purple Heart. "He was in a fraternity at Iowa State," his sister said. "He was kind of a fun-loving person who enjoyed life and was liked by everyone. He was one of the good guys."

King said she is searching to discover how the card and the information made its way to the museum. About eight years ago, she said, a Vietnamese immigrant recounted to authorities an event that King believes was the last moments of her brother's life. "He said a pilot was pulling up another pilot to the helicopter when the cable broke," King said. "He gave the location and time and everything."

She has placed a wreath at the All War Memorial at the Muscatine Courthouse Square. "In some ways, it hasn't ended for us," she said. "We are still looking for a full account. We know someone, somewhere, has a full account of where he was buried."

April 7, 1999

I was well acquainted with Charlie King and had flown a mission earlier with him. Since I was 40 years old at the time, they all called me Pops or the old man, but it was not in any way meant to be disrespectful. We all were a real close knit group and we all drank a few beers and played nickel and dime poker. The whole Squadron attended the memorial service at the chapel for him. I don't think there will ever be a Dec 25th that I don't remember the feeling and events that happened on that day. Even though I flew as a tail gunner in WW2, the same closeness did not prevail as it did in rescue and all the people involved felt a certain desire to attempt to do their best.

-- Lee R Maples, M/Sgt USAF RETIRED

April 1, 2011

I want to start off by thanking you for the web pages that you have done for CMSgt Charles D. King. It is a great tribute to a great person and a close personal friend.

I am in a picture you have posted on one of Charlie’s pages. It’s the one where four of us are sitting in the Coconut Grove Airman’s Club at Clark Air Force Base, P.I. I (A1C Henry [Skip] Passmore) am the first on the left, next is A1C Ronald (Ron) M. Campbell, then Al and Charlie.

I found your website yesterday after visiting the Traveling Wall that is now in Benbrook, Texas. I was wanting to find Charlie’s name and make a rubbing. The local volunteers that were working there helped me look for Doug King (that’s the name I remembered him by) but were unable to find him. I came back home and did a Google search for Viet Nam Air Force Cross Winners and found his name which quickly led me to your site. I returned to the traveling wall yesterday and made my rubbing and will mount it and display it on my wall with other treasured mementoes.

I can’t thank you enough for sharing his story. Charlie, and people like him, are the true hero’s in our country. Reading what you’ve provided has helped me put some closure to losing a very good friend.

-- Skip Passmore, USAF SMSgt retired - Benbrook, Texas

If you're interested in learning more about Pararescue, please visit these excellent sites:

• PJ's in Vietnam
• The Jolly Green Association
• Pararescue Association
• Pararescue Online
• Jim Thede's Specialtactics.com
• Wikipedia: Air Force Pararescue

Doug McGill, Charlie King, and Rick Petroski.
Photo courtesy of Doug McGill and Debbie Webster.

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