JACKSON, CHARLES A.
Name: Charles A. Jackson
Rank/Branch: USAF, O3
Unit: 433rd TFS Ubon RTAB
Date of Birth: 03 April 1946
Home City of Record: Charleston, WV
Date of Loss: 24 June 72
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 205000N 1050000E
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F4D
Missions: 26
Other Personnel In Incident: James. L. McCarty (still missing), pilot
REMARKS: 02/12/73 Released by DRV injured
Source: Compiled by THE P.O.W. NETWORK 02 February 93 from the following
published sources - POW/MIA's -- Report of the Select Committee on POW/MIA
Affairs United States Senate -- January 13, 1993. "The Senate Select
Committee staff has prepared case summaries for the priority cases that the
Administration is now investigating. These provide the facts about each
case, describe the circumstances under which the individual was lost, and
detail the information learned since the date of loss. Information in the
case summaries is limited to information from casualty files, does not
include any judgments by Committee staff, and attempts to relate essential
facts. The Committee acknowledges that POW/MIAs' primary next-of- kin know
their family members' cases in more comprehensive detail than summarized
here and recognizes the limitations that the report format imposes on these
summaries."
On June 24, 1972, First Lieutenant McCarty and Cpt. Charles A. Jackson were
the crew of an F-4D which was engaged by six MIGs over Nghia Lo Province and
shot down by an air to air missile. Capt. Jackson was captured on the
ground. The second aircraft in their flight with another two man crew,
Grant and Beekman, was also attacked by MIGs and shot down over Vinh Phu
Province. The crews of both aircraft were declared missing in action.
There were conflicting reports of contact with the crew of this aircraft. It
was later concluded that the reference to contact with those in incident
1882 was incorrect and in fact referred to contact on the ground with the
aircrew of those in incident 1881. Capt. Jackson was captured, taught
English to Vietnamese prison system cadre in late 1972, and upon his release
from captivity during Operation Homecoming stated he did not believe that
Lieutenant McCarty survived on the ground.
Following the shoot down, a People's Army of Vietnam unit radioed that its
MIG-21 aircraft had downed two aircraft. U.S. intelligence analysts later
concluded that this report correctly pertained to the shoot down of those
involved in incident 1882 on June 24th and the two crewmen from case 1882
also shot down on June 24th and captured on June 25th. On June 29, 1972,
the Vietnam News Agency reported Capt. Jackson had been captured alive in
Nghia Lo Province.
Lt. McCarty was not confirmed alive in captivity. After Operation
Homecoming he was declared killed in action, body not recovered.
In December 1990, a joint U.S./Vietnamese team conducted a search of the
crash site and recovered a data plate confirmed to be from one of the F-4D's
jet engines associated with this loss incident. In the spring of 1991, a
U.S. resident turned over a bone fragment and dog tag type information said
to come from a resident of Vietnam and pertaining to three purported MIAs
said to be associated with an incident on Dong Dang District, Cao Bang
Province, an area bordering the People's Republic of China. One of the
names was James L. McCarty. A July 5, 1991 DIA analysis concluded the
report was not true and "...part of a Vietnamese government managed
intelligence operation..."
In November 1991, a joint U.S./Vietnamese investigation gained access to an
apparent archival document describing the shoot down of a U.S. aircraft by
the People's Air Force on June 24, 1972 in Phu Yen District, Nghia Lo
Province. Charles Allen Jackson was identified by name as captured and
partial body parts were also found. Material evidence of the air loss was
recovered and turned over to Nghia Lo Province military. Capt. Jackson
escaped from custody that night in 1972 but was recaptured in the morning.
July 1997
Charles "Chuck" Jackson retired from the United States Air Force as a
Captain in September of 1979. Reflecting on his captivity - he says "Your
mind is your best friend or worst enemy - the problem is deciding which is
it being when?"
During ejection, he received injuries that included a compressed spine,
multiple fractures of the left arm, soft tissue damage to the hands, facial
cuts and the inability to stand or walk. After his escape and recapture, he
says "I was returned to the village, tied to a post while the villagers beat
me with fists and clubs. They placed me on my knees - and performed a "mock"
execution."
He and his wife "Marty" reside in South Carolina. Chuck Jackson is a
management analyst for a Naval Hospital. They are building a home, enjoying
family and friends. They have one son, Wiley.
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