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This Day in History – June 10, 1969 – The X-15 gets a place in history

10 June 1969: The U.S. Air Force donated the first North American Aviation X-15, serial number 56-6670, to the Smithsonian Institution for display at the National Air and Space Museum. The first of three X-15A hypersonic research rocketplanes built by North American for the Air Force and the National Advisory Committee (NACA, the predecessor of NASA), 56-6670 made the first glide flight and

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Boyd, Charles Graham

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  • Boyd, Charles Graham

Charles G. Boyd

Preferred Name: Chuck
Date of Birth: April 15, 1938
Highest Military Grade: 0-10 – General
Hometown: Rockwell City, IA
Headed West Date: March 23, 2022
Biography
Pilot Information
Headed West
POW
Album
Video

In His Words…

“If there is one message I would like to express to those who are interested in the American POWs and their life in the prisons of Vietnam, it would be a thumbnail sketch of the essence of the fighter pilot (for that’s what most of us were.)

“First of all- let me make this clear-we were not heroes but, rather, we were just ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances. This being true, I would now contradict myself slightly and explain what I regard to be a somewhat extraordinary characteristic of most fighter pilots. The fighter pilots that I have known are, by and large, a fiercely individualistic breed of men. Whether this characteristic directs them toward a career flying fighter aircraft, or if it is merely something they develop through association in a society of professional fighter pilots, I do not know. But this I do know there is not a fighter pilot worth his salt who would not prefer to fly alone in a single-seat aircraft, relying totally on his singular skills, than to work as a part of a committee on any multi-seated air machine.

“And so it should not seem surprising that this breed of men would be as well-equipped as anyone to cope with the special problems of isolation. The enemy captors thought they could ‘divide and conquer;’ that without collective leadership we would not be able to maintain our resistance and our resolve. But they did not reckon with the individual integrity of the American fighter pilot.

“Our stories have now been told, and further elaboration on our intricate communication systems, our ‘through the walls’ education programs, and our gigantic mental projects would only be redundant. But if a testimony is to be made to this group of men, it should be a testimony to the individual spirit. We returned with our mental health through no thanks to our captors, but because the highest degree of achievement is possible only when man is imbued with a spirit of individualism.

“In this world of changing values where the individual dignity of man seems to be eroding in the society, I think you would do well to remember the example set by men who refused to compromise their individuality.” – (source:CFTNI Weekly Bulletin =E2=80=93 April 12,2013)

General Charles G. Boyd, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), is the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Center for the National Interest. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of Business Executives for National Security (BENS) from 2002 to 2010 and now serves on its Advisory Board as President Emeritus. Before joining BENS, he served as Senior Vice President and Washington Program Director of the Council on Foreign Relations.

General Boyd was commissioned through the Aviation Cadet Program in July 1960 and retired in 1995 after 36 years of service. A combat pilot in Vietnam, he was shot down on his 105th mission and survived 2,488 days as a prisoner of war. The only POW from that war to achieve the four-star rank, General Boyd’s final military assignment was as Deputy Commander in Chief of U.S. forces in Europe. His other assignments as a General Officer include Vice Commander of Strategic Air Command’s 8th Air Force, Director of Plans at Headquarters U.S. Air Force in Washington, D.C., and Commander of Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. He is a pilot with more than 4,000 flight hours.

Following his retirement from active duty, he served as the Director, 21st Century International Legislators Project for the Congressional Institute, Inc. and strategy consultant to then-Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. In July 1998 he became Executive Director of the Hart-Rudman National Security Commission, the most comprehensive review of the national security structure and processes since 1947. The Commission foresaw the growing terrorist threat to the United States well before the September 11, 2001, attacks and advocated priority attention be devoted to homeland security.

His military decorations include the Air Force Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star with oak leaf cluster, Bronze Star with combat “V” and two oak leaf clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Purple Heart with two oak leaf clusters.

General Boyd is a native of Iowa. He is a graduate of the University of Kansas and the Air War College, as well as the Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security at Harvard University.
General Boyd is married to Dr. Jessica Tuchman Mathews. He has a daughter and a son. – (source: The Center for National Interest (https://cftni.org/expert/charles-g-boyd/)

Civilian Life

Following his retirement from the Air Force in 1995, Boyd served as strategy consultant to Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich. From July 1998 he was executive director of the U.S. Commission on National Security for the 21st Century, whose final report in January 2001 predicted a growing threat to the United States from terrorism. He has also served as senior vice president and Washington program director of the Council on Foreign Relations.

From May 1, 2002, until December 31, 2009, he was the president and CEO of Business Executives for National Security (BENS), a national security public interest group. From December 14–17, 2009, Boyd led a delegation from BENS to Pyongyang, North Korea, to discuss economic issues with officials from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea government.[6] Boyd remains involved with BENS as a member of the Board of Directors.[7]

He is a member of the board of directors at defense electronics firm, DRS Technologies; graphics software firm, Forterra Systems; and venture capitalists In-Q-Tel, who support the work of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Source: Wikipedia

Units Assigned

  • 7/1961 – 10/1963 510th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Clark Air Base, Republic of the Philippines (F-100)
  • 10/1963 – 8/1964 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, George Air Force Base, CA (F-105)|
  • 8/1964 – 11/1965 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, McConnell Air Force Base, KS (F-105)
  • 11/1965 – 4/1966 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand (F-105)
  • 4/22/1966 Shot Down in North Vietnam
  • 2/12/1973 Released during Operation Homecoming
  • 2/1973 – 8/1973 repatriation orientation
  • 8/1973 – 6/1975, undergraduate student, Air Force Institute of Technology, University of Kansas
  • 6/1975 – 6/1976 graduate student, Air Force Institute of Technology, University of Kansas
  • 8/1976 – 5/1977 Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL
  • 6/1977 – 6/1979 Special assistant to the chief of staff, Allied Forces Southern Europ/Executive officer to the chief of staff, Allied Air Forces, Southern Europe, Naples, Italy
  • 6/1979 – 9/1980, Chief, Western Hemisphere Division, Directorate of Plans, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, DC
  • 9/1980 – 6/1982 Deputy assistant director for Joint and National Security Council Matters, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
  • 6/1982 – 7/1984 Assistant director for Joint and National Security Council Matters, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
  • 7/1984 – 12/1986 Deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein Air Base, West Germany
  • 12/1986 – 6/1988, 8th Air Force, Vice commander,  Barksdale AFB, LA
  • 6/1988 – 8/1989, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Director of Plans, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Operations, Washington, DC
  • 8/1989 – 1/1990 Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Assistant deputy chief of staff for plans and operations, Washington, DC
  • 1/1990 – 10/1992 Air University, Commander,  Maxwell Air Force Base, AL
  • 10/1992 – present, U.S. European Command, Deputy commander in chief,  Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany
  • 1995 Retired USAF

Awards & Decorations

Air Force Cross
Air Force Cross
Distinguished Service Medal
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster
Legion Of Merit
Legion of Merit with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross
Bronze Star
Bronze Star with Valor Device and 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Purple Heart
Purple Heart with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Air Medal
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal
Order of the Sword
Order of the Sword

Flight Info

F-100
F-105

Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: 2,400+

Military & Civilian Education

Military Education:

  • 1977 Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
  • 1986 Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security, Harvard University, MA

Civilian Education:

  • 1975 BA, University of Kansas
  • 1976 MA, University of Kansas

Charles G. Boyd, Gen USAF, Ret., “Headed West” on March 23, 2022.

“With a sad heart, I must inform you of the passing of a great American Hero, USAF General Chuck Boyd.  He passed away last evening around 7:00 PM peacefully.  As many know, he was a Vietnam War POW, shot down over North Vietnam while flying his trusty F-105.  He was a fixture around the airport, flying his legendary T-34 with Air Force livery and Grey Eagle Logo.  He owned and flew several different aircraft here to include an A-36 Bonanza, A Great Lakes, and a Legend Cub that incorporated the now widely sought out “Boyd Step” to help with entering and exiting the cockpit.  General Boyd was a true friend to the airport, a mentor to many, and my friend.  He served his country well.  Where do we get such Men?

When I get more information that I will be allowed to pass along, I will.  As the General was a very private man, I ask that you respect his families wishes as they are related to me.

In honor of the General, the flags at the airport terminal will be flown at half-mast until sunset Sunday.”

Still Flying

Notice from: Dave Darrah
Airport Enterprise Director
Warrenton-Fauquier Airport”

 

Obituary from The Washington Post, by Harrison Smith, published March 24, 2022, 11:12 a.m.

“Charles G. Boyd, Air Force general and former POW, dies at 83. After his fighter plane was shot down in North Vietnam, he spent nearly seven years in captivity.

Charles G. Boyd, a highly decorated Air Force general who was shot down as a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, endured nearly seven years of captivity and rose to become the only former POW from that conflict promoted to a four-star rank, died March 23 at a hospital in Haymarket, Va. He was 83.

The cause was complications from lung cancer, said his son, Dallas Boyd.

A 36-year veteran who held posts in Europe, Southeast Asia and the Pentagon, Gen. Boyd retired from the Air Force in 1995 after serving as deputy commander of the U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, with an area of responsibility spanning 82 countries. He later served as executive director of the Hart-Rudman Commission, a congressionally chartered panel that reviewed the state of national security and — seven months before the 9/11 terrorist attacks — called for the creation of a new agency similar to what became the Department of Homeland Security.

Active in the realm of foreign affairs long after his retirement from the military, Gen. Boyd went on to warn against a unilateral U.S. invasion of Iraq, declaring that the “cakewalk” that some observers anticipated for American forces trying to replace Saddam Hussein would “never happen.” He was also a senior vice president of the Council on Foreign Relations, president and chief executive of Business Executives for National Security and chairman of the Center for the National Interest, a Washington think tank.

But as he saw it, “the defining experience” of his life was the 2,488 days he spent in confinement in North Vietnam, where he was tortured and beaten at prisons including Hoa Lo, a notorious detention center that American POWs nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton. For about 18 months, he occupied a cell next to a young naval officer, John S. McCain, and got to know the future U.S. senator and Republican presidential candidate by communicating through a series of coded taps on the wall, which POWs used to share stories and information.

The prolonged malnutrition he suffered in captivity led to vision problems that ended his career as a military aviator. Long after he was released in 1973, he returned to Southeast Asia to retrace his wartime steps and found himself overwhelmed by memories. For years, he rarely spoke about his experience as a prisoner, saying he wanted to look forward, not back.

“I made a significant effort in my life, and I think fairly successfully, to put that all behind me,” he told Airman Magazine, an Air Force publication, in 2016. “I’d lost about a fifth of my life at that point,” he added, “and I didn’t want to waste any more feeling sorry for myself or fussing over what otherwise might have been.”

Charles Graham Boyd was born in Rockwell City, Iowa, on April 15, 1938, and grew up working on his family’s farm. At age 7, his father paid for him to take a 15-minute flight on a crop duster. It was his first plane ride, and transformed an interest into an obsession.

“For a preteen farm boy from Iowa in bib overalls, in a family of very modest means, that was a really big dream — rather like, say, going to the moon,” he recalled in a 2019 oral history interview with the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training.
Gen. Boyd studied for two years at Baylor University in Waco, Tex., before learning about the Air Force’s aviation cadet program, which offered him a chance to become an officer and a pilot without receiving a degree. He signed up in 1959 and was deployed in 1965 to Thailand, where he went on bombing missions to North Vietnam and Laos, flying a supersonic F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bomber.

On April 22, 1966, during his 88th mission over North Vietnam, he volunteered to participate in an operation to destroy surface-to-air missile sites on the outskirts of Hanoi. He evaded a pair of missiles and continued his attack before being hit by antiaircraft fire, according to his citation for the Air Force Cross, the service branch’s highest decoration after the Medal of Honor.

“The selfless act of making repeated attacks through intense ground fire after barely avoiding two missiles was far beyond the normal call of duty,” the citation said.

Gen. Boyd recalled that his plane was damaged so severely he was forced to bail out at a dangerously high speed; his helmet was ripped off his head as he exited the aircraft. Parachuting into a rice paddy, he landed with scraped cheeks but no broken bones and was immediately captured by North Vietnamese wielding AK-47s.

Much of his captivity was spent in isolation, either in solitary confinement or with a fellow POW or two in his cell, although a few months after his capture he and some 50 other prisoners were forced to participate in a propaganda demonstration known as the Hanoi March. Paraded through the North Vietnamese capital, they were beaten and attacked by civilians along the way.

Gen. Boyd was released in February 1973, days after the Paris Peace Accords ended U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. By then he had vowed to return home “a different and better man,” including a better husband. His marriage to Millicent Sample, a schoolteacher, had been strained, he said, but they renewed their vows at a hospital chapel shortly after he returned, and remained together until her death in 1994.

Readjusting to life outside of captivity, he enrolled at the University of Kansas to pursue Latin American studies, an interest he had developed while in Vietnam, where a fellow POW used the “tap code” to teach him basic Spanish. “The big calluses on my knuckles from tapping so much lasted close to 10 years after I came home,” he told a University of Kansas interviewer.

He received a bachelor’s degree in 1975 and a master’s in 1976, and continued his military education at the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama.

Gen. Boyd later served as vice commander of Strategic Air Command’s 8th Air Force in Louisiana, director of plans at Air Force headquarters and commander of Air University in Alabama before being appointed to U.S. European Command in 1992. His military decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.

In 2005, Gen. Boyd married Jessica Tuchman Mathews, a former member of The Washington Post editorial board and president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, retiring with her to a farm outside Marshall, Va. In addition to his wife and son, of Falls Church, Va., survivors include a daughter, Jessica of Corona, Calif.; a sister; and four grandchildren.
Although vision problems stymied his career as a fighter pilot, Gen. Boyd rode a BMW motorcycle into his late 70s and continued to fly until last fall, including on a T-34 Mentor, the same single-engine aircraft he had trained on. Some of his other habits started to change, however. He noted that he had been “a Republican, but quietly” since his return from Vietnam, and served as a military adviser to Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) in the 1990s. Yet he largely stayed out of national politics until 2020, when he joined nearly 500 former senior military and civilian leaders in signing an open letter in support of Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.

“I fervently believe that military officers should not get involved in presidential politics, even when retired,” he said in a video he recorded for the group’s Twitter account. “But this year is different. Donald Trump’s assault on the rule of law that makes a democracy possible has been so egregious I’ve decided to speak out.”

He was voting for Biden, he added, and hoped others would do the same.”

Updates will be posted as information becomes available with regard to services for Gen. Boyd.

Charles G. Boyd POW Story
Date of Loss: 22 April 1966
Released: 2/12/1973
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F105
Missions: 105
Country of Loss: North Vietnam

Boyd was about six months into his combat tour as an Air Force pilot when his 105th mission ended in a prison cell in Hanoi. On April 22, 1966, he had to eject from his plane after it was hit by enemy fire from the North Vietnamese. He was captured, then spent the next 2,488 days as a POW.

The treatment of American prisoners of war took a toll physically and mentally. Aside from interrogations that were often forms of torture, the isolation of prisoners from each other kept the POWs in the dark on what was happening in the world around them.

“I lived in a near-vacuum as a prisoner of war for seven years, being cut off from information, other than that which I could get from other prisoners,” Boyd said.

During Boyd’s time in captivity, the first astronauts walked on the moon. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated. The Woodstock music festival and Watergate scandal made headlines and the Beatles broke up. News of some events may have made it to prisoners, but what came was scarce, and it arrived in a trickle.

Although prisoners were isolated – sometimes in solitary confinement, other times with one or two cellmates – and weren’t allowed to speak to each other, they still found ways to communicate. One early prisoner brought in a “tap code,” a system of tapping out letters on cell walls as a way to “talk” to men in neighboring cells. Words were communicated, letter by letter, in a combination of taps.

The tap code helped prisoners pass the time, bolstering morale, sharing knowledge, telling stories and jokes, spreading news, and even teaching new skills.

When Boyd found out that a prisoner two cells away knew Spanish, he used the tap code to learn a new language. A prisoner in the cell between them relayed the lessons and questions back and forth between Boyd and his teacher, tap by tap.

“It took a long time, but he gave me about 2,700 words of vocabulary, basic verb conjugation, pronunciation, syntax, et cetera,” Boyd said. “The big calluses on my knuckles from tapping so much lasted close to 10 years after I came home.”- (source: University of Kansas, Alumni Profile (Https://blog.college.ku.edu/alumni/alumni-profile-gen-charles-g-boyd-u-s-air-force-ret/)

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