Charles Rodgers Gillespie (1929 - 1989)

Born 24 Feb 1929 in Mississippi, United States

Died 28 Feb 1989 at age 60 in San Diego, San Diego, California, United States

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Biography

Captain Charles Gillespie was Prisoner of War during Vietnam War.

Commander Charles Gillespie served in the United States Navy in the Vietnam War
Service started: 1962
Unit(s): USS Coral Sea (CVA-43),
Service ended: March 14, 1973

Commander/US Navy Unit: Fighter Squadron 151, Carrier Fighter Wing 15 USS Coral Sea (CVA-43) Gillespie graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1951. He was shot down October 24, 1967 and became a Prisoner of War in North VietNam until his release March 14, 1973. His captors subjected him to extreme physical and mental cruelty, trying to get him to confess and divulge military information. By resisting the attempts of the North Vietnamese, Gillespie contributed greatly in getting the Vietnamese to stop treating prisoners so harshly. His devotion to duty, determination, courage and resourcefulness reflected tremendously to his credit and upheld the high traditions of the U.S. Navy and the United States Armed Services as a whole.

Gillespie received the Silver Star from the President of the United States.

He was killed in a crash of an MU–2 twin turboprop airplane on February 28, 1989. He had retired from active duty in June of 1983, and was flying the turboprop plane for Flight International Inc., a military contractor based in Newport News, Va. The crash took place minutes after he finished maneuvers intended to simulate hostile aircraft in war games involving Navy air traffic control students tracking planes from ships.

Death: 28 Feb 1989

Burial: March 16, 1989, Fort Myer, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington, Virginia, United States of America, Section 66, Site 6803 ^{[1] [2]}

Find A Grave: Memorial #128413768

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/128413768
2. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVG5-SFQF : 13 December 2015), Charles R Gillespie, 1989; citing record ID 128413768, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

• https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3A%22Charles%20Rodgers%22~%20%2Bsurname%3AGillespie~%20%2Bbirth_year%3A1929-1929~

• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VBSS-DG8 : 13 March 2018), Charles R Gillespie in household of Charles R Gillespie, Ward 1, Meridian, Beat 1, Lauderdale, Mississippi, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 38-1, sheet 5B, line 66, family 105, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2039.

• https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/04/obituaries/charles-gillespie-60-held-5-years-by-hanoi.html

• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV57-1PDB : accessed 23 May 2019), Charles R Gillespie Jr, California, United States, 03 Mar 1989; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing , born-digital text.

• ”United States Casualties of the Vietnam War, 1956-1998," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KXZW-DZZ : 12 December 2014), Charles R Gillespie, NARA NAID 306742, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

• https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVTQ-66X4

• "California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VGP6-T2V : 26 November 2014), Charles Rodgers Gillespie, 28 Feb 1989; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.

https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3A%22charles%20rodgers%22~%20%2Bsurname%3Agillespie~%20%2Bbirth_year%3A1929-1929~

• https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3A%22Charles%20Rodgers%22~%20%2Bsurname%3AGillespie~%20%2Bbirth_year%3A1929-1929~