My Texas MIA
As I stated on my previous page, this page too will remain up until all POW/MIA/KIA'S are either brought home, or buried in thier own native land.
What Is A "Army" Brat?
To find out what a "brat" is, read this please. Thanks.
My "Daddy" who I always jokingly said "I had him on a pedestal so high, that if he was to fall, would probably break
something". It was never a joke though. He served over 20 years
in the United States Army, and I couldn't be more proud of him.
He was always there, to pick me up when I would fall, dust me off, wipe away the tears, and set me back on my feet, heading in the right direction.
Life in the Military is so much different then that of the civilain life. We knew what it was like to pick up and move at a moments notice. To constantly make new friends, only to lose them again due to transfering. But there was always the "Special" bonding, because they lived through it to.
When he finally "Retired" I would hear kids in High School make remarks like "Oh, we grew up together, or I've known them all my life", and wonder what it would have been like. Now, a little older, and hopefully a little wiser, I realize, I would not change it for the world. The people I have met, places I have seen, yeah...it was a GOOD life, and one I am proud to have been apart of. "Daddy"I love you!
Name: Charles Bernard Goodwin
Rank/Branch: O2/US Navy
Unit:
Date of Birth: 02 August 1940
Home City of Record: Haskell TX
Date of Loss: 08 September 1965
Country of Loss: North Vietnam/Over Water
Loss Coordinates: 174300N 1063500E (XE678593)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Veicle/Ground: RF8A
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 April 1990 from one or more of the
following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with
POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: The Vought F8 "Crusader" saw action early in U.S. involvement in
Southeast Asia. Its fighter models participated both in the first Gulf of Tonkin
reprisal in August 1964 and in the myriad attacks against North Vietnam during
Operation Rolling Thunder. The Crusader was used exclusively by the Navy and
Marine air wings (although there is one U.S. Air Force pilot reported shot down
on an F8) and represented half or more of the carrier fighters in the Gulf of
Tonkin during the first four years of the war. The aircraft was credited with
nearly 53% of MiG kills in Vietnam.
The most frequently used fighter versions of the Crusader in Vietnam were the C,
D, and E models although the H and J were also used. The Charlie carried only
Sidewinders on fuselage racks, and were assigned such missions as CAP(Combat
Air Patrol), flying at higher altitudes. The Echo model had a heavier reinforced
wing able to carry extra Sidewinders or bombs, and were used to attack ground
targets, giving it increased vulnerability. The Echo version launched with less
fuel, to accommodate the larger bomb store, and frequently arrived back at ship
low on fuel. The RF-A models were equipped for photo reconnaissance. The RF-G
were also photographic versions, but with additional cameras and
navigational equipment.
The combat attrition rate of the Crusader was comparable to similar fighters.
Between 1964 to 1972, eighty-three Crusaders were either lost or
destroyed by
enemy fire. Another 109 required major rebuilding. 145 Crusader pilots were
recovered; 57 were not. Twenty of these pilots were captured and
released. The
other 43 remained missing at the end of the war. In addition, there were 16
pilots who went down on photographic versions of the aircraft. Of these 16,
seven were captured (six were released, one died in captivity).
Lt.JG Charles B. Goodwin was the pilot of an RF8A on a combat mission in Quang
Binh Province, North Vietnam on September 8, 1965. As he was about 5 miles east
of the city of Quang Khe, just over the Gulf of Tonkin, his aircraft crashed. It
was felt that there was a very good chance that Goodwin survived, and he was
declared Missing in Action.
The Defense Intelligence Agency further expanded Goodwin's
classification to
include an enemy knowledge ranking of 2. Category 2 indicates "suspect
knowledge" and includes personnel who may have been involved in loss incidents
with individuals reported in Category 1 (confirmed knowledge), or who were lost
in areas or under conditions that they may reasonably be expected to be known by
the enemy; who were connected with an incident which was discussed but not
identified by names in enemy news media; or identified (by elimination, but not
100% positively) through analysis of all-source intelligence.
Links To Other POW/MIA/KIA Sites
"Let's Bring 'Em Home
(My First Adopted POW.)
Because of you....I have "FREEDOM"
Remember Our Unforgotten Hero's
A "Secial Thanks" to Ron Fleischer and to Doc for supplying the above pictures and icons.
If you have a site for our Pow's & Mia's, please leave a note in the guestbook, so I may visit you as well. Thank You...~Unique~
Page Created Nov. 16,1997
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