BROWN, CHARLES ARTHUR JR.

Name: Charles Arthur Brown, Jr.
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force, co-pilot
Unit: 307th Strat Wing, Utapao AB TH
Date of Birth:  1946
Home City of Record: Boston MA
Loss Date: 19 December 1972
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 205900N 1054359E (WJ762203)
Status (in 1973): Released POW
Category:
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: B52D

Others In Incident: Richard W. Cooper; Charlie S. Poole (both missing);
Henry C. Barrows; Hal K. Wilson; Fernando Alexander (all POWs released in
1973).

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 July 1990 from one or more of
the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence
with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W.
NETWORK 2023.

REMARKS: RELSD 730329 BY DRV

SYNOPSIS: Frustrated by problems in negotiating a peace settlement, and
pressured by a Congress and public wanting an immediate end to American
involvement in Vietnam, President Nixon ordered the most concentrated air
offensive of the war - known as Linebacker II - in December 1972. During the
offensive, sometimes called the "Christmas bombings," 40,000 tons of bombs
were dropped, primarily over the area between Hanoi and Haiphong. White
House Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler said that the bombing would end only
when all U.S. POWs were released and an internationally recognized
cease-fire was in force.

On the first day of Linebacker II, December 18, 129 B52s arrived over Hanoi
in three waves, four to five hours apart. They attacked the airfields at Hoa
Lac, Kep and Phuc Yen, the Kinh No complex and the Yen Vien railyards. The
aircraft flew in tight cells of three aircraft to maximize the mutual
support benefits of their ECM equipment and flew straight and level to
stabilize the bombing computers and ensure that all bombs fell on the
military targets and not in civilian areas.

The pilots of the early missions reported that "wall-to-wall SAMS"
surrounded Hanoi as they neared its outskirts. The first night of bombing,
December 18 and 19, two B52s were shot down by SAMs.

Onboard the first aircraft shot down on December 18 was its pilot, LTCOL
Donald L. Rissi and crewmen MAJ Richard E. Johnson, CAPT Richard T. Simpson,
CAPT Robert G. Certain, 1LT Robert J. Thomas and SGT Walter L. Ferguson. Of
this crew, Certain, Simpson and Johnson were captured and shown the bodies
of the other crew members. Six years later, the bodies of Rissi, Thomas and
Ferguson were returned to U.S. control by the Vietnamese. Certain, Simpson
and Johnson were held prisoner in Hanoi until March 29, 1973, when they were
released in Operation Homecoming.

Capt. Hal K. Wilson was in the lead aircraft of a B52 cell from Utapoa. Also
on board his aircraft were crew men MAJ Fernando Alexander, CAPT Charles A.
Brown, Jr., CAPT Henry C. Barrows, CAPT Richard W. Cooper Jr. (the
navigator), and SGT Charlie S. Poole (the tailgunner). Wilson's aircraft was
hit by a SAM near his target area and crashed in the early morning hours of
December 19, sustaining damage to the fuselage. In the ensuing fire, there
was no time for orderly bailout, but as later examination of radio tapes
indicated, all six crewmen deployed their parachutes and evidently safely
ejected. The aircraft damage report indicated that all six men were
prisoner.

Radio Hanoi announced that Poole had been captured and that he was
uninjured. Whether Cooper's name was also reported is unknown, as the airman
who heard this report on Guam heard only part of the broadcast, and being a
friend of the Poole family, remembered vividly only the parts concerning
Charlie Poole. When the war ended, however, only four of the crew returned
from Hanoi prisons. Hanoi remained silent about the fate of Charlie Poole
and Richard Cooper.

The Christmas Bombings, despite press accounts to the contrary, were of the
most precise the world had seen. Pilots involved in the immense series of
strikes generally agree that the strikes against anti-aircraft and strategic
targets was so successful that the U.S., had it desired, "could have taken
the entire country of Vietnam by inserting an average Boy Scout troop in
Hanoi and marching them southward."

To achieve this precision bombing, the Pentagon deemed it necessary to stick
to a regular flight path. For many missions, the predictable B52 strikes
were anticipated and prepared for by the North Vietnamese. Later, however,
flight paths were altered and attrition all but eliminated any hostile
threat from the ground.

Linebacker II involved 155 Boeing B52 Stratofortress bombers stationed at
Anderson AFB, Guam (72nd Strat Wing) and another 50 B52s stationed at Utapoa
Airbase, Thailand (307th Strat Wing), an enormous number of bombers with
over one thousand men flying the missions. However, the bombings were not
conducted without high loss of aircraft and personnel. During the month of
December 1972, 61 crewmembers onboard ten B52 aircraft were shot down and
were captured or declared missing. (The B52 carried a crew of six men;
however, one B52 lost carried an extra crewman.) Of these 61, 33 men were
released in 1973. The others remained missing at the end of the war. Over
half of these survived to eject safely. What happened to them?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Charles Brown Jr. retired from the United States Air Force Reserves as a Lt.
Colonel. He and his wife Marty reside in Massachusetts.

==================================================

http://www.af.mil/news/Apr2003/40503629.shtml

Former POW celebrates 30 years of freedom

by Senior Master Sgt. Sandi Michon
439th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

04/05/03 - WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. (AFPN) -- As U.S. prisoners of
war in Iraq await their freedom, Col. Charles Brown, 439th Maintenance Group
commander here recalled the end of his own POW experience 30 years earlier.

On April 1, 1973, a young, Captain Brown walked off a C-9 Nightingale onto
the tarmac here after spending 101 days as a prisoner of the North
Vietnamese. He was imprisoned at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" after his B-52
Stratofortress was hit by a missile Dec. 19, 1972.

Brown's experience as a POW takes on renewed significance in light of
current events in Iraq. "It brings back old memories," he said.

Brown's most vivid memories as a POW are his first day of confinement and
the jarring transition from combatant to prisoner.

"The first day is the most dangerous," he said, explaining that most POWs
first survive a firefight and other forms of enemy brutality before reaching
their permanent place of confinement.

Brown appeared on television after his capture, and he said he feels that it
may have saved his life.

"If you end up on camera, you generally get released because of the
increased accountability it creates," he said. "In a larger sense, it's more
dangerous to not appear on camera."

Brown sees similarities between North Vietnam and Iraq.

"Both situations involve dictators that have little value for human life,"
he said.

Three decades have helped heal the psychological pain of his POW
confinement, but Brown said his experiences also helped him focus on what is
important.

"You find you place greater emphasis on relationships," he said, and added
that his faith played a role in his survival.

The POWs tapped "GBA" (God Bless America) on cell walls in code to keep up
their spirits and counted the bell tolls from the Hanoi Catholic church
nearby to keep track of time, Brown said.

"They constantly fed us lies over the radio, but my faith helped me know
they were just lies," he said.

On April 1, Brown's friends here commemorated his 30-year homecoming
anniversary with a surprise ceremony. Brown, one of only a few Vietnam-era
former POWs still actively serving in the military, told the gathered crowd
that "the real heroes are the ones who didn't come home."

Chief Master Sgt. George Kudla, of the 439th Aerospace Medicine Squadron,
was on the flight line when Brown return three decades ago. "I remember
seeing his skinny face in the C-9 window when it taxied into the parking
ramp at Westover," he said. "He asked how the Boston Bruins were doing,"
Kudla recalled with a laugh.   (Courtesy of Air Mobility Command News Service)

=========================================

Col. Charles A. Brown, Jr.
 Colonel Charles A. Brown, Jr. is the commander of the 439th Maintenance
 Group, 439th Airlift Wing at Westover Air Reserve Base, Chicopee, Mass. He
 assumed this position in January 1999.

Duties include providing management, direction and guidance to two
maintenance squadrons, which maintain 16 C-5A galaxy aircraft, as well as
the 439th Logistics Support Squadron. Reviews the functional areas of
aircraft maintenance, supply, transportation and contracting in terms of
specific objectives, relative priorities, capabilities and limitations.
Responsible for manning, equipping and training the 439th Logistics Group.
Determines the effective use of personnel, equipment and budgeted monies.

Westover Air Force Base was the site of Lt. Col. Brown's first assignment,
where he was a B-52 pilot with the 99th Bombardment Wing until his
separation from active duty in 1973. On Dec. 19, 1972, the B-52 he was
piloting was shot down over Hanoi by a Surface to Air Missile (SAM). He
parachuted to safety, only to be captured by North Vietnamese militiamen and
held prisoner in The Hanoi Hilton, as well as the Zoo P.O.W. camp, for 101
days. On April 1, 1973, he was returned to Westover.

EDUCATION:
1968 Bachelor of science degree in Aeronautical Engineering (ROTC program),
Boston University
1969 Undergraduate Pilot Training, Craig Air Force Base, Ala.
1995 Air War College

MILITARY ASSIGNMENTS:
1968 - 1969, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Craig AFB, Ala.
1970 - 1973, B-52 co-pilot, Westover Air Force Base, Mass.
1974 -1976, Rhode Island ANG
1977 - 1978, chief of quality assurance, Westover Air Force Base, Mass.
1978 - 1980, C-123 pilot, Westover Air Force Base, Mass.
1980 - 1983, chief of aircrew standardization/evaluation
1983 - 1987, C-130 pilot, Westover Air Force Base, Mass.
1987 - 1989, chief of quality assurance, Westover Air Force Base, Mass.
1989 - 1993, commander, 439th Component Repair Squadron, Westover Air
Reserve Base, Mass.
1990 - 1991, active duty, Operation Desert Shield/Storm, Westover Air
Reserve Base, Mass.
1993 - 1996, maintenance officer, 439th Equipment Maintenance Squadron,
Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass.
1996 - 1998, maintenance officer, 439th Aircraft Generation Squadron,
Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass.
1998 - 1999, vice commander, 439th Logistics Group, Westover Air Reserve
Base, Mass.
1999 - present, commander, 439th Logistics Group, Westover Air Reserve Base,
Mass.

FLIGHT INFORMATION:
Flight hours: 12,000
Aircraft flown: 1968-1969 T-41, T-37 and T-38
1969-1973 B-52
1977-1983 C-123
1983-1987 C-130
1973-1990 DC-9, 727

MILITARY AWARDS AND DECORATIONS:
Purple Heart
Bronze Star with V device
Distinguished Flying Cross
Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Medal with eight oak leaf clusters
Prisoner of War Medal
Vietnam Service Medal, two devices

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION:
Second Lieutenant 1968
First Lieutenant 1969
Captain 1971
Major 1982
Lieutenant Colonel 1989
Colonel 2000

ORGANIZATIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS:
Academy of Model Aeronautics
Boy Scouts of America
Hampshire County Radio Control Club
Reserve Officer Association

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