50 years later, Vietnam POWs from South Carolina getting recognized for their sacrifice (Charles Jackson)

Charles “Chuck” Jackson has little memory of the crushing sound of metal as his F-4 Phantom II broke apart.

What he does remember most is the split second before ejecting.

A heat-seeking missile, about 6 to 8 feet long, fired by a pursuing North Vietnamese MIG-21 went right up the two-seater’s jet exhaust while he and pilot Lt. James McCarty were on their return trip home from a bombing mission north of Hanoi.

Other Publications You Might Be Interested In

POW Bill Mayall: The Air War in Vietnam

Chase Wakelin interviews Bill Mayall, a veteran who served as a navigator on the B-52 strategic bomber during the later years of the Vietnam War. Bill recounts the missions he flew and his experience as a POW in the Hanoi Hilton.

Read More »