Parham, Charles Easton, Jr.

Data Sources - Air Force Manual No. 200-25A, Department of the Air Force, Washington, October 16, 1961  page 1. Sanitized copy. National Archives KOREAN Conflict Casualty File (KCCF) 1950-1954. 


MIAs in incident; Parham, Charles Easton, Jr.; Smith, James Dela,  Jr.;  Thompson, Charles Russell; Harrell, Guy Buchanan, Jr.
                                      

03/92 -- Korea, and the men yet to be accounted for -- the "official list" --  is a list of U.S. servicemen known to have been held as prisoners of war by the red Chinese and North Koreans from the Korean War but not released or accounted for by the communists, as released on May 27, 1957 at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on the Far East and Pacific by the Department of Defense.

The lists, the printed minutes of the May 27, 1957 hearing and the "sense of congress" resolution were subsequently buried in the archives. The original list had 450 names compiled from American POWS who were repatriated by the Reds, as well as from photographs released by the Reds, Chinese radio propaganda broadcasts, and letters written home by captured men. The "revised" list was narrowed down in august of 1961 to 389 men, and all were arbitrarily declared dead by the military services, the USG still lists them as "unaccounted for".

Names and ranks only were released at the time, and printed in "The Spotlight" on August 27, 1979, along with the above information and background. Further information has been compiled by the P.O.W. Network from the Hawaii POW/MIA Korean Memorial records, National Archives documentation, and public United States Air Force documentation, and changes made to the original published information. (FEBRUARY 1992)
 

Charles Parham Jr. is listed on the "HONOR ROLL OF FORGOTTEN AMERICANS" yet is listed as having "died while missing" by the National Archive.

https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000007PrHbEAK

03/13/2021

Service Member   A1C CHARLES EASTON PARHAM JR.

  • KOREAN WAR
  • UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
  • Unaccounted For

Approximately two and a half hours after midnight on November 25, 1951, a B-26C Invader (tail number 44-34666) departed Pusan East Air Base with a crew of four. The briefed mission was a night interdiction operation targeting the main supply routes known as Green 2 and 3. Just before sunrise, the crew radioed air controllers reporting that the mission was complete, and the pilot was directed to fly the aircraft toward Hoengsong. Several minutes later, air controllers received a transmission from an unidentified source, believed to be the Invader's pilot, ordering his crew to bail out. No further contact was made with the aircraft. Search aircraft found no trace of the Invader or its crew. The reason for the aircraft's disappearance is unknown, though other pilots flying in this area at the time had reported icing conditions. All four of the Invader's crew members remain unaccounted for.

Airman First Class Charles Easton Parham Jr. entered the U.S. Air Force from North Carolina was assigned to the 730th Bombardment Squadron (Light), 452nd Bombardment Group. He was the gunner aboard this Invader when it went missing.  No returning POWs mentioned contact with A1C Parham, nor was he seen at any known holding point, interrogation center, hospital, or permanent POW camp. He remains unaccounted-for.Today, Airman First Class Parham 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 Deferred.

If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.