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On Christmas Eve, 1968, Major Charles R. Brownlee's F-105D aircraft was
shot down over Laos between the city of Ban Phaphilang and the Ban Karai
Pass. On Christmas Day, A1C Charles D. “Doug” King volunteered to be
aboard an HH-3E helicopter leaving Nakhon Phenom Air Base to rescue
Major Brownlee. The helicopter located the pilot, believed to be dead by
then. Airman King was lowered 100 feet into the jungle to the ground.
Once on the ground, King freed Brownlee from his parachute, secured him
to the rescue device and dragged him to a point near the hovering
helicopter. Suddenly, enemy soldiers closed in and began firing. King
radioed that he was under fire and for the helicopter to pull away.
Brownlee was secured to the hoist cable, but King had not yet secured
himself to the cable. When the helicopter pulled away, the hoist line
snagged in a tree and broke, dropping King and Brownlee about 10 feet to
the ground. 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.
During the period he was maintained as Missing in Action, Charles D.
King was promoted through all the ranks to Chief Master Sergeant.
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