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Remember...Charles Reid Michaelson
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Charles Reid Michaelson was born July 14, 1921, at Carbon, Kanawha County, West Virginia. His parents were Otto Henry Michaelson and Dorothy Grace Chapman Michaelson. Otto's World War I draft registration shows him to be living in Decota, West Virginia; he stated at the time that he was married and his family included a wife and two children. He indicated he was a motor runner for Cabin Creek Consolidated Coal Company. Between 1914 and 1930, Otto and Dorothy became parents to a large family; all but one lived to adulthood. Charles's siblings included Elizabeth S. (or Sarah Elizabeth), Willard Owen, Wilburn Harrison, James Auburn, Louise, Clarence, Ray, Margaret A., Henry, Mary Aileen, and Dorothy. (Family information obtained from the Michaelson Family Tree on Ancestry.com, Find A Grave postings for Otto, Charles, Clarence, and Mary and the 1930, 1940, and 1950 Federal Census listings. It should be noted that spelling of names is not consistent over the various census documents.) Another sister, Edna Helen, was born in January 1924 and died in November 1924; thus, she did not appear in any census listing.
While research provided little additional detail of the formative years of Charles's life, the 1946 yearbook for Morris Harvey College shows him to be a member of the Kriegie Club. It's not clear whether he graduated, but in 1947, Charles married Anna Lee Perry. A Charleston city directory for 1948 shows the young couple to be living in an apartment at 1316 Kanawha Boulevard East, and Charles is a miner. After his death, Anna Lee married Kyle Cunningham and had a son Troy Lee.
While research provided little additional detail of the formative years of Charles's life, it's clear that he served in World War II. A hand-written note on the application for a military headstone states:
Enlisted 21 Aug 42 and entered active duty same date. Honorably discharged 14 Apr 1944. Appointed 2 Lt. 15 Apr 44 accepted and entered on active duty same date. Honorably relieved from active duty 22 Dec 45. Recalled to active duty 10 Oct 50. Died 8 Apr 51. Death occurred in line of duty and was not the result of his own misconduct.
This, of course, is a bare-bones account of First Lieutenant Michaelson's service. In fact, his World War II record was formidable. According to an account, originally written by Dallas Higbee, news editor of the Charleston Gazette and one-time public information officer of the 167th Fighter Squadron, and retold in USAF Unit Histories,
Probably the most spectacular war record was compiled by Lt. Charles R. Michaelson of Charleston. Lt. Michaelson was shot down over enemy territory on two occasions, one time making it back through enemy territory to his home base in England. The other time he was shot down over Germany and spent the rest of the war in a POW camp. It was during this episode that he had what he descried [sic] to this writer as his most harrowing experience. But, let's let him tell it in his own words as he told to me when we were together last summer at an Air Guard encampment in Ohio. "If you want a POW story, I've got one," he said. "I had been shot down and after being interrogated, was being transferred to a regular prison camp. As the transportation was a little bad, I was beating it out on foot, with a guard. There had just been a B-26 raid on the Frankfurt marshalling yards and as we came up over a ridge I could see a bunch of German civilians around a crashed B-26. They had the six crewmen out and were hanging them to a big tree. We ducked back down and went around another way. The way those guys were made, they would have strung me up too." ("167 Airlift Squadron," 12 March 2021, accessed 23 July 2024, https://usafunithistory.com/PDF/0100/150-174/167%20AIRLIFT%20SQ.pdf.)
| As noted above, with the Korean War looming, Charles was recalled to active duty. So, despite the horrors of his World War II experiences, he lived only to meet his death in the crash of the C-47 at the Charleston [Kanawha] Airport on April 8, 1951. |  |
Much has been written locally about the crash and its aftermath—the Charleston Gazette and Daily Mail offered timely coverage of the event and its aftermath, and other newspapers around the state followed suit. In a practice no longer familiar, newspapers often published an "extra," which allowed for frequent updates on breaking news. The following account, however, is excerpted from the actual accident report:
After reporting over the Charleston Radio Range at 5000 feet on an IFR flight from Godman Air Force Base, Kentucky to Charleston, West Virginia, the pilot was cleared by Charleston Approach Control to descent to 3500 feet, pending approach clearance. . . . [The pilot then indicated a turn procedure.] The procedure turn report was the last radio contact with the aircraft.The C-47 crashed into a hill approximately 1150 feet high located 4.6 miles from the approach end of runway 23 at Kanawha County Airport and 1.07 miles West Northwest of the Outer Marker beacon. Both wings of the aircraft were sheared off on impact by trees. The fuselage came to rest approximately 125 yards from the point of impact and was almost completely consumed by the fire which apparently was instantaneous with collision. . . .
One of the two survivors of the crash was a rated pilot riding as passenger who succumbed to burn injuries within less than 24 hours. The other survivor lived for approximately one week after the crash. The statements of the survivors indicate that they were positioned further aft in the plane than any of the other passengers and it is worthy of note that one of the survivors stated that to the best of his knowledge all the rest of the passengers who suffered fatal injuries had their safety belts fastened. . . .
[Here the report provides numerous technical details regarding the approach pattern and describes the condition of the aircraft on impact, concluding that the damage made the cause of the crash difficulty to determine.]
The report continues:
The fact that both survivors reported seeing the airport a short time before the crash lends credence to the belief that the pilot misread the altimeter and was actually flying at 1300 feet indicated when he reported being at 2300 outbound over the inner locator at 1132C. This altitude would put the aircraft below the 1000 foot overcast and above the 500 foot broken ceiling which would enable the passengers to get a glimpse of the airport through the broken cloud layer.The time lapse of only 2 minutes from the position over the inner located outbound until the procedure report further suggests the actions of this pilot in setting up his approach were distinctly hurried. One wrist watch found in the wreckage was stopped at 1136C, so the time of the accident is assumed as between 1135C and 1136.
While the failure of the ILS equipment might be considered as conducive to the accident, the pilot was aware of the malfunction and planned to make his approach independently of this system. It does not appear therefore that this failure should be considered as a direct cause factor. (Report of AF Aircraft Accident, West Virginia State Archives.)
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While most families held individual private services for their lost loved ones, the entire community rallied to their support when a joint service for all was held at the Charleston Municipal Auditorium on April 10. Local newspapers reported that more than 4,000 attended the joint memorial service, with standing room only for more than 500. |
Lt. Michaelson was buried in Sunset Memorial Park in South Charleston. He was the recipient of the Air Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster. His brother Clarence also served in the military in World War II and Korea. He was a private in the U.S. Army and later a staff sergeant in the Air Force, retiring from the West Virginia Air National Guard as a medical tech with 30 years of service. Brother Ray became a corporal in the U. S. Army and served in Korea.
Article prepared by Patricia Richards McClure, who gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Syd Edwards, historian who has extensively written about the C-47 crash
July 2024
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
