General Chuck Boyd April 1938 – March 2022 Heading West on His Final Flight
By John Morrissey IAC 3238
We met and bonded fifty-six years ago at Korat Royal Thai Air Base flying missions into the heavily defended Northern regions of Vietnam in our iconic F-105 Thunderchiefs.
Chuck had already been downed once, and rescued, before I joined 421 Squadron and began flying with him. He was shot down, again, on the 22nd of April and became a captive of the North Vietnamese in their draconian prisons for almost seven years of interrogation induced torture and solitary confinement. He was repatriated February 12th, 1973, after the Paris peace accords were signed on 23 January.
Chuck returned home with his honor intact along with the other stalwart men who were bent, but not broken, by their captors. The medals he was awarded for Valor include the Air Force Cross (just below the Medal of Honor), the Distinguished Service Cross (our Army’s second highest award), two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, Three Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Bronze Star and Three Purple Hearts.
We kept in touch over the years as he moved through the ranks of our Air Force to the Four-Star General level. When he retired in 1995, he continued to contribute to the wellbeing of our Republic in many meaningful ways, but he always made time to fly. His stable included a T-34 in Air Force livery and a Legend Cub that he used to hone his tail wheel skill sets before buying one of the new Great Lakes when he was 78. Since he now owned and aerobatic aircraft he became a member of our International Aerobatic Club to once again enjoy flying his new biplane to its design limits. He enjoyed our Sport Aerobatics magazine and meeting many IAC members. He flew his T-34 to Krier Field in Ashland Kansas to observe competition aerobatic training, talking with the members of Class 2018D and visiting the Krier Museum to see Harold’s original Great Lakes. In 2019 he flew his T-34 to my home in Kansas City and joined me for a flight to Blakesburg, Iowa to enjoy their Labor day Fly-In. Later, in 2019, I flew my Pitts to his home in Northern Virginia because he mentioned he would like for us to fly formation again, only this time in his Great Lakes with me in my the Pitts.
He was a natural pilot in any airplane and a true Airman and gentleman in every sense of those words. He never let his rank interfere with his many meaningful friendships with folks from every walk of life. He was a husband, a father and a patriot who fought hard and long in arduous circumstances for his cherished Republic.
And he loved to be one with the sky, as all Airmen do.
Chuck was annealed by the fires of war that created a sense of dutiful purpose that permeated his leadership by quiet example.
He flew peacefully flew West at 19:00 hrs. on 23 March 2022 to rejoin his mates lost along the road of life.
Video resources
- Forever an Airman - a poignant six minute interview for a segment of an Air Force History project. YouTube Link
- EAA Warbirds of America Tribute to General Charles G Boyd. Facebook video Link. Gen. Charles G. Boyd, the only Vietnam-era prisoner of war to become a four-star general, died March 23 at the age of 83. Boyd was also a former vice commander of 8th Air Force, commander of Air University, and deputy commander of U.S. European Command.
- USAF Gen. (ret.) Charles G. Boyd delivers a sermon commemorating the U.S. Marine Corps birthday at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. YouTube LINK
