Memories With Charles Alexander
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| Edinburg High School senior 1955 |
"And when the air cleared, there it was, a mountain directly in front of me and I had about 2 seconds before I would hit it and thus had no chance of avoiding it. I was flying an F-4 Phantom fighter fast and low -- had just finished dropping several napalm bombs in Vietnam and had circled around to hit this target again. There was no avoiding the mountain and I flew directly into it's side -- I was a goner -- except that nothing happened. Then I realized that what I thought was a mountain was really the smoke billowing up from bombs I had just dropped on the first run. Whew! The mountain was nothing but smoke."
OK, when Charlie told this story recently, I did not record his exact wording so I paraphrase. But, I hope the essence of this story is reasonably accurate.
Anyway, he explained that his fighter carried 12 napalm bombs which was a heavy load, so making a steep dive toward the target was fundamentally impossible. It was necessary to approach the target in a shallow dive which exposed his aircraft to enemy fire from below. During his many sorties in Vietnam, he received a couple of bullet holes in his plane -- nothing serious. Fortunately, he was never shot down and captured by the Viet Cong.
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| Captain Alexander now called Chuck |
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| Mom |
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| Ralph, Charles and Jack Alexander |
Charles and I were high school buddies. About a year after we graduated from High School, a Marine Corps recruiter convinced us that when we were drafted, we would end up as foot soldiers in the US Army. But, if we joined the Marine Corps we could choose our own specialty. So, Charlie, Jerry Kaml and I joined and suffered through boot camp in San Diego in Platoon 296. I don't remember Mr. Lugo, who is also in this photo. If you notice a chip in Charlie's front tooth, the following story provides an explanation.
Charlie soon took an exam, passed and qualified to become a pilot in the US Navel Cadets. Among his training sites was Beeville, Texas where he met Mary -- a laboratory technician -- and they were married.
The marriage resulted in a couple of beautiful daughters that must have made him very proud.
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| Joy, Mary and Karen Alexander |
But, long before his daughters grew up, Charles became a flight instructor in Viet Nam and later in Hawaii, retired as a major from the Marine Corps, and took a job flying 737 passenger planes for Aramco in Saudi Arabia -- a job that paid much better than the Marines. His Saudi employers gave him much time off, so he was happy to enjoy an easier life than when in the Marines. He had one of the largest homes in the Aramco residential camp, so they had lots of parties there. It was there that he took up scuba diving and ultimately became an instructor in the sport. Mary later joined him and they dove in some of the best diving sites around the world.
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| Chuck, Joy, Mary and Karen ready for a swim |
He also took up tennis, sailing and giving parties to other ex-patriots living in Saudi Arabia.
I observed this photo on his wall and Charles explained these were Saddam Hussein's Scud missiles exploding over Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during the War in the Gulf. One hit US barracks, killing 27 soldiers and injuring 98. Must be a sound of that explosion is apparently etched deep into his memory.
To summarize, and according to his daughter Karen, he spent "20 years in the marines - fighter pilot!! 20 years flying with Aramco aviation. I think 20 years with flight safety. He was awarded numerous flight safety awards and the best award was the Wright Brothers award -- the most prestigious award the FAA issued under the title 14 code. It is awarded to pilots that have exhibited professionalism, skill, and aviation expertise for at least 50 years while piloting aircraft as a master pilot."
His handsome family has also grown, but has also lost one member. Sadly, Mary died several years year.
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| Charles, Ryan, Mary, Preston, Joy, Zachery amd Karen
And here he is with a gathering of his old Edinburg High School friends during their 50th reunion.
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| Howard Simmons, Charles Alexander, Jerry Kaml, Tosh Williams and Winfield Sterling |
Anyway, I am very proud of my old friend for his long and successful career and for producing a loving family. We wish him a speedy recovery after his recent fall. And, I hope his nurse will forgive me for sneaking him out of a local rehabilitation center. At least she gave me a serious scolding for not checking him out when my wife, Pat and I helped him escape to his beautiful home in Collyville, TX for a few hours.
Charlie's life deserves a much more complete and detailed treatment than this brief overview, but maybe its a start for someone else to use for writing his complete biography.
Table of Contents: https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6813612681836200616/3382423676443906063?hl=en
