His tour began on Dec 25, 1968
Casualty was on May 5, 1978-Actual day is Dec.25, 1968.
In LZ, LAOS
Hostile, died while missing, HELICOPTER - CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND

Body was not recovered
Panel 36W - Line 76 


On Christmas Eve, 1968, an F-105, call sign "Panda 01", was shot down over Laos. Its pilot, Major Charles R. Brownlee, successfully ejected and his parachute drifted into an area known to be occupied by enemy troops. At first light SAR was organized to return to the area on Christmas Day. The crew of Jolly low (Jolly 17) were all volunteers: Lt. Col. William Cameron (aircraft commander), Captain Robert Heron (co-pilot), Sergeant Jerome Casey (flight engineer), and A1C Charles D. King (pararescueman). 

Once again the Jolly's were placed in a high orbit and the Sandy's began trolling for ground fire. Enemy troops did not take the bait. Not drawing any ground fire Sandy lead told Jolly low to attempt a pickup. As the helicopter came into a hover over the parachute, SGT Casey saw a man hanging from the parachute by his harness. The man was not moving and was hanging only a couple of feet off the ground. 

CMS Charles Douglas King volunteered to descend on the forest perpetrator to rescue the downed pilot. LtCol Camereron was not thrilled about the idea of lowering his PJ to the ground, but realized that it was the only way to rescue Major Brownlee. 

Just as CMS Charles Douglas King reached the ground, enemy troops began firing, first at the helicopter and then at the men on the ground. King freed Major Brownlee from his parachute and secured him to the perpetrator. He signaled SGT Casey to reel them up.

Only a few feet off the ground, CMS Charles Douglas King called on the radio, "I'm hit, I'm hit, pull up, pull up." Normally, the men on the perpetrator would be hoisted clear of the trees prior to the rescue helicopter resuming forward flight. But enemy troops were hosing the helicopter with effective small arms fire. Staying in the hover until the two men cleared the tree tops would certainly result in the helicopter being shot down, crashing right on top of Major Brownlee and Airman Charles King. 

Out of options and seriously battle damaged, Lt Col Cameron was forced to leave the stable hover. To optimize the chances of the men on the penetrator, he elected to ascend straight up. He hoped that this maneuver would lift the two men clear of the trees, prior to instituting forward flight. 

As the helicopter moved up, the hoist cable or the forest penetrator caught on a tree and the hoist cable snapped, dropping King and Brownlee about 10 feet to the ground. Badly injured from the fall and wounded by enemy small arms fire CMS Charles Douglas King made one last radio call, "Jolly, get out of here, they're almost on top of me."

The seriously damaged helicopter was forced off the scene due to the intense ground fire. Enemy troops swarmed over Major Brownlee and Airman King. The Sandy's could not fire on the enemy because they would hit their own men.

Two days of searching and numerous radio calls from air rescue aircraft to Airman Charles King went unanswered. He was declared missing in action and later promoted in sequence with other MIA's to Chief Master Sergeant. 

He was never heard from again. 

Charles Douglas King was officially declared killed in action on 5 December 1978. 

The family hoped for years that he would be found. But on May 15, 1978, Chief Master Sergeant Charles Douglas King was officially declared killed in action. 

He was awarded the Air Force Cross, the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, and the Purple Heart. 

In February 1986, a Laotian refugee in the U.S. reported that he witnessed King’s capture, and observed them being taken away in a truck. 

In 1993, U.S. officials found an identification card with Charles Douglas King’s name, service number, date of birth and writing in Vietnamese that indicated that he was killed on Dec. 25, 1968. 

King was also honored on June 12, 1979, for his professional dedication, courage and valor by the Air Force when it named a dormitory for him — King Manor at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C. At Scott Air Force Base near Belleville, Ill., First Street was renamed King Street in his honor on June 28, 1979. On Feb. 27, 1990, another dormitory — King Manor at March Air Force Base in California — was named in his honor. And on Nov. 15, 1996, at Hickham Air Force Base in Hawaii, Building 1856 was dedicated to his memory. 

Most recently, on October 20, 2012, U.S. Bypass 61 in Muscatine was officially renamed “Douglas King Memorial Expressway.” 

King is memorialized in Hawaii at Honolulu Memorial Cemetery with others who are MIA, lost, or buried at sea in the Pacific during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Their remains have never been recovered, but their sacrifices have not been forgotten. 



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No news surfaced about King or Brownlee until February 1986, when a Lao refugee came to the United States and reported that he had witnessed King's capture, and watched as he was taken away in a truck. The refugee's story matched most details of King's loss incident. Less clear were the details of Brownlee's fate.
In 1993 US officials were allowed into the Central Army Museum in Hanoi, where personal items from American casualties were kept. They found an identification card with Charles Douglas King's name, service number and date of birth. A North Vietnamese witness was found who stated "a pilot was pulling up another pilot to the helicopter when the cable broke. Both pilots died."
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The Air Force dedicated a building to the memory of Charlie King at Hickam AFB, Hawaii .

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Press release dated December 17, 1998, from Sherry King, Doug King's sister:
Christmas Day 1998 will mark the Thirtieth Year Anniversary of a rescue mission in the jungles of Laos, where a Muscatine, IA native gave his life in an attempt to rescue a downed Air Force pilot, Major Charles R. Brownlee, of Alamosa, CO.
Doug King had only a few weeks left in Vietnam and had his orders to go stateside. It was a dangerous mission that Christmas Day but he volunteered to go. He was trained as a Special Forces Pararescueman for this kind of mission.
For ten years he was listed as missing in action. Every attempt was and still is being made for a full accounting.
In 1993, a delegation of United States Congressmen went to North Vietnam. They, along with the Joint Casualty Resolution Center, were allowed in the Central Army Museum in Hanoi. In that museum, they found a Geneva Convention card with Doug's name, rank, service number, and date of birth. With that card, was an envelope with the same information plus some writing in Vietnamese. The information of the letter indicated that he had been shot and killed that Christmas Day in 1968.

"I think it's important for people who knew and loved him to bring some closer to 30 years of not knowing what had happened. We are more fortunate than some MIA families, as we have some information. Our efforts continue for a full accounting."
During his missing status, he was promoted from Airman First Class to Chief Master Sergeant. He received the Air Medal on July 4, 1968. He was awarded the Air Force Cross, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Silver Star, The Purple Heart and the Air Medal ( First Oak Leaf Cluster) posthumously for his extraordinary heroism. Doug has been recognized and honored for his professional dedication, his courage and valor throughout our nation by the USAF naming a dormitory, King Manor at Andrews AFB, near Washington, D.C., on June 12, 1979. At Scott AFB, Illinois, 1st Street was renamed King Street in his honor on June 28, 1979. On February 27, 1990, a new dormitory was named King Manor at March AFB, California, and on November 15, 1996 at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, building 1856 was dedicated to his memory for paying the ultimate price as a young Pararescueman in South East Asia.