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His Father Writes Tribute to Son,Captain Charles W. Mylius, Jr.AM over the world, sorrowing but proud fathers and mothers are experiencing what the parents of Captain Charles Mylius have as a memory. The following tribute to Charles was written by his father:To honor Captain Charles Wood ford Mylius, Jr. a memorial service was held it honor of Captain Myliu at St. Stephen’s Church, at five o’clock in the afternoon, March n. The Reverend B. B. Comer Lile, formerly of the Church of the Ascension in Richmond, conducted the services.At the age of 12, Charles professed faith in Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. Nor was this avowal on his part a mere conventional step; he lived that faith with a consistency of power and beauty such as few young men have ever shown.Captain Charles Woodford Mylius, Jr., an, was born on May 5, 1923 at Johnson-Willis Hospital, Richmond, Virginia, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Woodford Mylius, Westham Richmond, Virginia. He attended St Christopher’s .School for nine years, entering there September 18, 1928 at the age of five years. He also attended John Marshall High .School for 'two years where he graduated in 1940 the age of t6. Here he was Captain Adjutant of the Staff, President of the Non Com Club, and Member of the Honor Court. During the summers, at the age of 10, he began the study of commercial subjects at his father’s school, the Richmond Business College. He. was made vice president of this corporation on March 10, 1944, just eight months before .his death. After graduating from John Marshall High School, he attended the University of Richmond, for two years. He was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.Dies in EnglandCharles was killed at Thorpe Ab-botts, England, at about five o'clock on Monday morning, November 20, 1944, while serving as command pilot of a Weather Ship, a B-17 Flying Fortress, and as assistant operations officer of the 100th Bombardment Group of the Eighth Air Forces. He was not the pilot of the Weather Ship on that day, but as senior officer his duties were to radio the weather condition back to the base before the other bombers took off for their target. The entire crew of six men, not Charles’s original crew, but all veterans of many combat missions, were killed instantly when the aircraft lost altitude and hit a tree immediately after taking off. The plane did not burn or explode.O’Shea WritesThe following excerpt is from a letter received by Mr. Mylius from T/Sgt. William F. O’Shea: “I didn’t fly with the crew the morning of the accident since it wasn’t a combat .mission we flew a skeleton crew and therefore four of us didn’t go and so there were only six members there, five of our crew and your son Charles.The accident was of the mysterious type so the cause was never disclosed. It was probably a mechanical failure, but if weather conditions had been better all would have been safe. The boys took off about 5 A. M. in the Weather ship and it was dark and extremely foggy. They went down the runway successfully and took off and got about 50 feet off the ground, a mile from take-off, and the left wing dipped and they lost their altitude. I imagine Stanley and Charles fought the controls to right the plane, and had it been bright out would have succeeded in landing on a farm but without visibility the wing hit a tree and upset the plane. The worst part was no one was mutilated and they aM came close to escaping alive, and yet they all went immediately as the medics were out there a few minutes after it happened.”Buried in EnglandCharles was buried on November 24, 1944, in Cambridge, England, in the American National Cemetery with full military honors. Colonel Thomas S. Jeffrey, Commanding Officer of the 100th Bombardment Group, visited the home of Mr. and Mrs. Mylius on March 30, 1944, and gave them details of the accident. He said Charles would have been promoted to major in a few days.Formerly first pilot of the B-17 Plying Fortress, “Waticare”, 351st Bombardment Squadron, 100th Bombardment Group, a veteran of more than 30 attacks on Nazi war targets, his missions include eight attacks on military installations on the German capital. On one mission only three fortresses returned. He was with the first group of fortresses to bomb Berlin. He flew the morning of D-Day in support of invading forces. He also took part in shuttle bombing missions to Russia •and made a trip to Cairo, Egypt.Wins Four HonorsCharles won the Air .Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Presidential Unit Citation.Captain Mylius was cited “For extraordinary achievement while serving as pilot of a Flying Fortress on numer ous .bombardment missions in the air offensive on enemy occupied Continental Europe. Under the duress of heavy fighter attacks, anti-aircraft fire, andoften under adverse weather conditions, Captain Mylius, by his superior airmanship, contributed to the success of all these operations,” the citation stated. The untiring effort, skill, and determination under stress of combat displayed by Captain Mylius are in keeping with the highest traditions of the Army Air Forces. . . .”Large Experiencediaries eatisied in the U. S. Army Air forces on September 3, 1942, anu (after completing the Civilian Pilot framing Program in 1941-42 at the University ot Richmond} went first in training to Maxweil Field, Alabama rrom Septemoer, 1942; then to Camden, Arkansas, November 22, 1942; then to Walnut Ridge Army Air Forces, Basic Flying School, January 31, 1943; then to Seymour, Indiana, Army Advanced Flying School, April 1, 1943, and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant May 28, 1943, after which be went toColumbus, Ohio to the Army Air Forces Specialized Pilot School (4 engine;, June 1943 (Lockibourne Army Air Base). He oame home 011 June 20, ■1943, and left on July 26, 1943, for Pyote, Texas, Pyote Army Air Base; then for Dalhart, Texas, in October,1943. He .left for overseas in January,1944, and soon entered combat with the 351st Bombardment Squadron, 100th Bombardment Group, Eighth Air Forces. He was promoted to first lieutenant in March, 1944, and to captain in May, 1944.Home on Leave After completing his required missions in June, besides volunteering for more, he came home on July 26, 1944, for 30 days, returning to England on September 15, 1944, where he again joined the 100th Bombardment Group, attached to Headquarters as operations officer. His original crew with whom he flew so many missions, are all back in the States now, except the navigator who is still with the 100th Bombardment Group in England.Commanding General Commends The Commanding General of the Army Air Forces, H. H. Arnold, wrote the following personal letter to Charles’s parents soon after the accident: “With deep regret I have learned of the untimely death of your son, Captain Charles Woodford Mylius, Jr., which occurred on November 2d, 1944, in England while he was flying in the service of his country. It has come to my attention that Captain Mylius, a graduate of the training school at •Spence Field, was a loyal pilot who constantly sought to increase his skill, •and a diligent officer possessing initiative and sound judgment. His passing is mourned by a host of friends who liked his engaging personality and good sportsmanship.“May the knowledge that your son gave his life for our cause be a source of consolation in your grief. My heartfelt sympathy is extended to you and other members of the family.”McGee’s “High Flight”The following poem, “High Flight”, by John Gillespie Magee, Jr., 19, who was killed in action on December 11, •941. might well be said of Charles: Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,And danced the skies on laughter silvered wings,Sunward I’ve climbed and joined the tumbling mirth Of sunsplit clouds—and done a hundred things You bave not dreamed of—wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,I’ve chased the shouting wind along and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air.Up, up the long delirious burning blue I’ve topped the windswept heights with easy grace,Where never lark, or even eagle flew; And, with silent lifting mind I’ve trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space Tut out my hand, and touched the face of God.What a wonderful memory and heritage he has Jeft us. His life will always be an inspiration to all who knew him; his memory a star to guide us all along the dark road that lies ahead. The eyes that looked out in such friendliness upon us are closed. The young hands, strong for kindness and courage, have finished their mission. The feet that trod with tireless zeal the paths of service, now march no more. The lips, so ready to speak a smiling word for God, are silent. Yet, the lofty qualities of his spirit still live, and will live—to enter as golden threads the very warp and woof of other men’s lives. In the measure of time Charles's life was brief; but in the measure of deeds, so full that it seems long in retrospect, in prospect eternal.Besides his father and mother and his yourkger brother, William Ransone Mylius, Pbm.3/c, serving with the Navy on a cruiser in the Pacific, Charles leaves a host of friends at John Marshall and countless others now scattered far and wide over the earth to mourn his loss.CAPT. CHARLES MYLIUSAT TWENTY-ONE Dedicated to the Memory of Capt. Charles Woodford Mylius, Jr.And Inscribed To His Mother And FatherIn England's earth your body rests,For you the day of strife is done; The pains .and joys, the griefs and jests, The lights and shades of life’s bequests, They touch you not—your course isAt twentv-one.But what was really you lives high Above the storms that daily stun The heart as sorrows multiply.By faith we know you live for aye, Though life on earth for you was done ,At twenty-one.You knew the vast expanse of sky Above the clouds that hide the sun. You knew the gallant men who ply The air, to whom you said goodbye ' When life for you had just begun At twenty-one.You fought the fight to Set men free;And though you lie in Albion,Your high and noble gallantry Remains a blessed memory.Your battle’s won, O Pilot son,At twenty-one.—Charles G. Reigner, President, Rowe Publishing Co. Baltimore, Maryland. March 4, 1945.The future toward which we are marching across bloody fields and frightful manifestations of destruction, must be based upon broad and simple virtues, and upon the nobility of mankind.—Winston Churchill.forJulian Callaway Booth, United States Coast Guard George Ben Johnston Handy,Lieutenant United States ArmyLee G. Crutchfield, Jr.,Lieutenant United States ArmyJoseph Lennon Pitts,United States NavyCharles Nance Major,Ensign United States Navy Floyd N. Terrell,Private U. S. Army Air CorpsJulius R. Nikel,United States Army Air CorpsThomas Thrasher, Jr.,Lieutenant United States Army Air CorpsHerbert N. Pernins,United States Army Air CorpsFelix P. Boswell,Pilot Officer Royal Canadian Air ForceMathew Louis Thomason,Gunners Mate Third-Class United States NavyJohn Sterling Taylor,Lieutenant-Colonel, U. S. ArmyR. M. Cone,Captain United States Army William S. Vaiden,Sergeant United States Marine CorpsJ \mes Gilmer Heath,Pilot Officer Royal Canadian Air ForceWallace Haw Gregory,Corporal United States Army Air CorpsLemuel B. Tatum,Private United States Army Air CorpsAlfred E. Nolan,Captain, U. S. Army Air CorpsThe Reverend Lee Milton,R. A. F. Ferry CommandEarle Noble,Lieutenant, U. S. Army Air CorpsSherrod Dickerson Tatum,Aviation Machinist’s Mate second-class, United States NavyJames W. Gibson,Seaman First-Class and Gunner U. S. NavyJames N. Eubank, Jr.,Storekeeper Third ClassNeville D. Blakemore,Captain U. S. Army Air Corps
Newspaper Details
Richmond Monocle
Richmond, Virginia, US
Thu, May 24, 1945
Page 3
Full Page
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USA 03 Dec 2023
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