General Chuck Boyd (RIP)

For John, BLUF:  We meet may people throughout our life, but some make a special impression.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Charles G. Boyd, Air Force general and former POW, dies at 83

Here is the sub-headline:

After his fighter plane was shot down in North Vietnam, he spent nearly seven years in captivity.

From The Wash Post, by Reporter Harrison Smith, 24 March 2022, 11:12 a.m. EDT.

Here is the lede plus two:

Charles G. Boyd, a highly decorated Air Force general who was shot down as a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, endured nearly seven years of captivity and rose to become the only former POW from that conflict promoted to a four-star rank, died March 23 at a hospital in Haymarket, Va. He was 83.

The cause was complications from lung cancer, said his son, Dallas Boyd.

A 36-year veteran who held posts in Europe, Southeast Asia and the Pentagon, Gen. Boyd retired from the Air Force in 1995 after serving as deputy commander of the U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, with an area of responsibility spanning 82 countries.  He later served as executive director of the Hart-Rudman Commission, a congressionally chartered panel that reviewed the state of national security and — seven months before the 9/11 terrorist attacks — called for the creation of a new agency similar to what became the Department of Homeland Security.

My Wife and two of our children and I knew General Boyd in the 1980s.  On short notice I was reassignerd from the Air Staff, in the Pentagon, to Headquarters, US Air Forces Europe, as General Boyd's deputy in the Plans and Programs Directorate.  This was due to the intervention of Colonel Al Gropman, who was may boss on the Air Staff.  I remember the discussion.  Colonel Gropman cme into my closet like office and said that "Chuck" Boyd was looking for a Deputy (at Ramstein) and would i be interested?  My briefcase was open on the two drawer file cabinet and I reached in and picked up my checkbook and said:  "I'm ready to go."  Colonel Gropman said:  "Don't you want to check with Martha?"  I responded:  "No, she is ready to go also."  And she was.  We had talked about taking an assignment going back to Europe just a few weeks before.

General Boyd was a great boss.  He encouraged those who worked for him and demonstrated integrity.  And, he took care of people, seeing that they moved on to better jobs.  He got me a position as a Wing Commander, which was a wonderful next stop for me.

Our paths diverged after we each returned to the Pentagon, but I did visit his late wife Milce, who was in Walter Reed Hospital.  A fine woman and Air Force Wife.  She too was missed.

As an aside, I have been impressed with the former Prisoners of War I have meet during my career.  They geneerally have a special humility, which allows them to be better human beings.

Regards  —  Cliff