WINDELER, CHARLES CARL JR.

Remains Returned
ID Announced 22 August 1989

Name: Charles Carl Windeler, Jr.
Rank/Branch: W2/US Army
Unit: Troop F, 79th Artillery, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division
Date of Birth: 28 July 1944 (Newburgh NY)
Home City of Record: Savannah GA
Date of Loss: 05 April 1972
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 114818N 1963610E (XU746054)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: AH1G
Refno: 1815

Other Personnel in Incident: Henry M. Spengler (remains returned)


Source: Compiled from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S.
Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published
sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK in 2020.

Other Personnel in Incident: Henry M. Spengler (remains returned)

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: On April 5, 1972, Capt. Henry M. Spengler, pilot, and WO Charles
E. Windeler, aircraft commander, were flying as lead aircraft in an AH1G
helicopter (tail #67-15594) against an enemy force in the vicinity of Loc
Ninh in Vinh Long Province, South Vietnam.

As the helicopter was pulling off its second gun run, it was hit by enemy
anti-aircraft fire. The helicopter began to descend with flames billowing
from the exhaust area, and at about 300 feet above the ground, it appeared
that the tail boom began to bend and wobble, causing the aircraft to spin to
the left.

The gunship crashed, burst into flames, and exploded. Several members of the
flight saw the helicopter during the descent and crash, but saw no one
escape from the aircraft.

An aerial search was made by numerous aircraft, but no survivors were seen.
No ground search was attempted due to hostile fire. An electronic search
failed to locate any survivors.

Witnesses believed that Spengler and Windeler were killed in the crash of
their helicopter. Because no bodies were found, they were listed with honor
among the missing, prisoner, and unaccounted for from the Vietnam war.

For seventeen years, the Vietnamese denied knowledge of Spengler and
Windeler, although the crash of the aircraft was in enemy-held territory,
and it has always been thought that the Vietnamese knew what happened to the
two men. Then, in late August, 1989, the U.S. announced that the Vietnamese
had discovered and returned remains for both Spengler and Windeler.

Now, at least their families no longer wonder if they are among the hundreds
said to be still alive in captivity. They know their men are dead. However,
they may never know for sure how - or when - they died.

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02/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000xxAnaEAE

CWO CHARLES CARL WINDELER JR.

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On August 18, 1989, the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii (CILHI, now DPAA) identified the remains of Chief Warrant Officer Charles Carl Windeler Jr., missing from the Vietnam War.

Chief Warrant Officer Windeler joined the U.S. Army from Georgia and was a member of Battery F, 79th Artillery Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. On April 5, 1972, he was the aircraft commander aboard an AH-1G Cobra on an attack mission against enemy forces in Vinh Long Province, Vietnam. The AH-1G was shot down while making a pass over the target, and CWO Windeler was killed in the crash. His remains could not be recovered immediately following the incident. In April 1989, remains associated with CWO Windeler's loss were recovered. Forensic analysis identified the remains as those of CWO Windeler later that year.

Chief Warrant Officer Windeler is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

 

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