PARISH, CHARLES CARROLL

Name:  Charles Carroll Parish
Rank/Branch:  03/USN
Unit: VF 102
Date of Birth:  7 February 1943
Home City of Record: Lexington, VA
Date of Loss: 5 July 1968
Country of Loss: NVN
Loss Coordinates: 184300 North 1054100 East
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F4J

Other Personnel in Incident: Fant, Robert (released);

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project and the P.O.W. NETWORK 27 March
1992 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency
sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources,
interviews. 2020

REMARKS: PROB DIED IN A/C WRECKAGE

SYNOPSIS: After graduation from the Naval Academy in 1964, LCdr. Parish
was ordered to flight training. This was completed 1 1/2 years later at
which time he was ordered to a fighter squadron attached to the carrier,
AMERICA, on which he went first to the Mediterranean and then to
Vietnam, where he flew a number of missions. On July 5, 1968 his son was
born. On July 25, 1968, his Phantom was shot down over North Vietnam and
he was declared missing in action. Some months later the north
Vietnamese revealed that the RO had been captured at the time of the
incident and was a POW.

Tragically, reports of Americans still held in captivity continue to flow
into the U.S. intelligence community. Many officials who have seen these
largely classified reports are convinced that hundreds of Americans are
still alive in Southeast Asia, still prisoners of a war that most Americans
would like to put behind them.

Many fear the books are being closed on Americans who are alive. If so, what
would they think of us for allowing it to happen? How many would serve the
next time their country called them if they knew they could be abandoned?

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02/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000KZouEAG

LCDR CHARLES CARROLL PARISH

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On July 25, 1968, an F-4J Phantom II (bureau number 155540, call sign "Milkvine 112") with two crew members was the wingman aircraft in a flight of two on a mission to attack the Vinh Railroad Yard in North Vietnam. Once over the target area, after making a pass on the target, the crew of the lead aircraft saw "Milkvine 112" on fire along the centerline. They attempted to contact the Phantom's crew but were unsuccessful, and then witnessed "Milkvine 112" crashing near (GC) 48Q WF 720 694. No parachutes were seen but the flight leader's crew detected a rescue beeper signal and dispatched search and rescue teams to the area. However, the search teams could not find either of "Milkvine 112's" crew members. Enemy presence in the area prevented further searches. Eventually, it was discovered that the Phantom's radar intercept officer had survived the crash and was captured. He was returned to U.S. custody in 1973, but the other crew member aboard the Phantom was not seen again.

Lieutenant Charles Carroll Parish entered the U.S. Navy from Virginia and served in Fighter Squadron 102, embarked aboard the USS America (CVA 66). He was the pilot of "Milkvine 112" when it crashed and his remains were not recovered. The surviving crew member reported after his release that he believed LT Parish was attempting to control the aircraft as it went down and was still aboard the plane when it crashed. Following the incident, the Navy promoted LT Parish to the rank of Lieutenant Commander (LCDR). Today, Lieutenant Commander Parish is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. 

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

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