Charles Frederic Klusmann was a Naval Aviator born on September 7, 1933, in San Diego, California. He joined the U.S. Naval Reserve on February 23, 1952, and began active service on March 18, 1953. Lieutenant Chuck is known for his extraordinary heroism and achievement for his role in the aerial fight during the Vietnam War and his escape from a communist prison camp in Laos. During his service, Chuck was deployed to the Gulf of Tonkin, as President Lyndon B. Johnson had ordered Klusmann and other Kitty Hawk aviators to gather intelligence information against the North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao troops in Laos.

Former prisoner of war reflects on capture (Pete Camerota)
In honor of Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Recognition Day, a former prisoner of war came to Ramstein Air Base, Sept. 16 to share his experience and visit one of his last duty stations before he retired. At the time of becoming a prisoner of war, retired Maj. Pete Camerota,
 
				 
															