Charles Ray "Chuck" Calhoun

Charles Ray “Chuck” Calhoun, 86, of Falcon, CO, “crossed the bar” and was called home to our Lord in the early morning hours of May 12th, 2024, after a long bout with kidney disease brought on by exposure to Agent Orange during his service in the Vietnam War.

Charles was born on February 10th, 1938, to Ronnie and Sarah Calhoun in Montcalm, WV. After high school, Charles was faced with the choice of following in his father’s footsteps to work in the coal mines of WV, or to chart his own path in the world. He chose to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps, and enlisted in the United States Navy as a helicopter crewman and mechanic in 1955, thus marking the launching of a career in aviation that would put Charles at the hinge points of history for several developments in military helicopter history, as well as achieving the pinnacle of his profession as a master aviation mechanic. While in the US Navy, Charles served in one of the US Navy’s first helicopter recovery/rescue units (HU-2, DET 45 “Angel” – USS Essex) during the 1958 Lebanon Crisis, and becoming a qualified “shellback” that same year.

In 1959, while on leave from the Navy visiting a Navy buddy of his, and just prior to re-enlistment, Charles met Caroline Haworth in Dallas, OR, at the diner in which she worked. He was smitten at first sight. At that moment he decided he wouldn’t re-enlist in the Navy, but would instead get out of the Navy and move to Oregon to be closer to the girl of his dreams. Charles and Caroline were married in March of 1960, and the two went on to build a large, loving family and have five children together: Stephen (1961), Melissa (1964), Jennifer (1965), Rachel (1967), and Jason (1971). Following the passing of their eldest son, Stephen from leukemia, Charles and Caroline adopted his young daughter, Brittanya (1980) and raised her in his stead.

After his ETS from the Navy, Charles joined the US Army, again as a helicopter crewman and mechanic, this time in the hope of attending flight school. Unfortunately, the Vietnam War intruded, and Charles again found himself in harm’s way, this time deploying to the Republic of Vietnam. On December 11th, 1961, his unit (57th Transportation Company [Light Helicopter]) comprised of 32 H-21 Shawnee helicopters debarked from the USNS Core in the Port of Saigon. Although technically, “Military Advisors” they had become some of the first conventional US forces to engage in combat in the Vietnam War. On January 12th,1962, Charles took part in the first helicopter assault of the Vietnam War, “Operation Chopper.” Charles would spend the following year in Vietnam pioneering the foundational elements of the heliborne air assault model, serving as one of the first 5 helicopter door gunners in the US Army, before redeploying Stateside to serve in Company A, 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 11th Air Assault Division. This unit would later become the 1st Air Cavalry Division and return to Vietnam, as depicted in the movie “We Were Soldiers.” This time they would go to Vietnam without Charles.

After his ETS from the US Army, Charles had set aside his desire to pilot helicopters, and instead embraced his passion for maintaining and crewing aircraft. This time he joined the US Coast Guard, where he was a plank owner of the USCG Air Station, Astoria, OR; a crew chief in the C-130 Hercules; and maintenance chief/hoist operator for HH-52 Seaguard, and HH-3 Pelican. Near the end of his career, Charles was on the crew that took delivery of the first HH-65 Dolphin in the USCG inventory. Charles received more than a dozen “Winged S” awards for lifesaving activities while serving in the USCG, and was part of a rescue off the coast of Point Ano Nueva, CA that earned him a USCG Commendation Medal, and his copilot the Coast Guard Medal. This rescue served as one of the bases for the development of the USCG “SAR Wet” program, which would later evolve in the USCG Rescue Swimmer (AST) rate. Charles retired from the USCG in 1984, at the rank of Senior Chief (E-8), with a combined total of 28 years’ active-duty service.

After retirement, Charles stayed in the aviation business for the rest of his working years, founding the aircraft maintenance and sales concerns North Bend Aviation in North Bend, OR; and Salem Airmotive in Salem, OR. He served as President, Chief Mechanic, salesman, and Authorized Inspector until his full retirement. Upon the completion of his professional maintenance career, Charles was recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration with the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award to commemorate his more than 50 years of combined civil and military aviation maintenance experience.

Charles was preceded in death by his parents, Ronnie and Sarah; brothers, Tommy Lee, Ronald, and Danny; sister, Patricia; son, Stephen; daughter, Jennifer; and grandson, Jacob. He is survived by his wife, Caroline; brothers, Kenneth, Robert, and Jerry; sister, Barbara; children, Melissa, Rachel, Jason, and adopted daughter, Brittanya; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Military services for Charles will be 3:00 p.m., Friday, May 31st at Pikes Peak National Cemetery; with a Recitation of the Holy Rosary 12:30 p.m. and Mass of Christian Burial 1:00 p.m. Saturday, June 1st at Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church in Black Forest, CO.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you plant a tree or make donation to a worthy veteran's cause, a matter about which Charles and Caroline both feel very strongly.