Charles Goodrich
2LT USAAF 494th (H)
Pacific 1943-1946
Born Charles Henry Goodrich to Charles Ervin and Mabel Louise Crow Goodrich on February 1, 1922, Charles joined the Army Air Force September, 1942, and was inducted to service March 28, 1943.
Intelligent, outgoing, and energetic, Charles had hoped to pilot a jet. By Spring 1944, he earned his wings at Frederick Army Air Field (USAAF) in Frederick, Oklahoma. Initially, Charles was assigned to be a flight instructor, but he was destined to be a co-pilot of a heavy bomber, the B-24 Liberator. He was included in the 7th Army Air Force’s, 494th Bombardment Group (H) aka “Kelley’s Cobras”, 865th Squadron. Having been the last formed bombardment group of the war, their group was stationed in Palau, a part of the western chain of the Caroline Islands, bordering the Philippines. Charles flew his first mission on May 4, 1945, with crew 31A in #496. In August 9, 1945, he flew a mission to Iwakuni, a short distance from Hiroshima. (The atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima August 6, 1945.) His last mission was August 26, an armed reconnaissance flight of the Japanese islands and the Coast of Shanghai. By November 1945, he returned to Oxford and was separated from service January 9, 1946. (He joined the Air Force Reserves and later retired with the rank of Captain.)
Having married Eunice Long of Oxford before his deployment, upon return to the U.S., Charles continued to work at the family business, Goodrich Produce, in his hometown. Over the next decade, he and his wife would have three children: Harold, Candice and Reid. He found a new career as a securities broker and the family moved to Mt. Vernon, Iowa, where he continued in his chosen field for the next forty-two years.
Charles passed away on June 26, 2000. He was a stalwart patriot descended from three Revolutionary Soldiers and a Union Civil War serviceman.
Honors Earned: Air Medal, Asiatic Pacific Service Medal, American Theater Service Medal, WWII Victory Medal and (6) Battle Stars
Locator
