Sgt. Charles Camp recalls service in Vietnam

Sgt. Charles Camp worked on AC-47 Spooky aircrafts during his time in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War era. (Contributed)
Sgt. Charles Camp worked on AC-47 Spooky aircrafts during his time in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War era. (Contributed)

Sgt. Charles Camp had thirty-three days to either sign up for the military or get drafted and see what branch of the military fate might send him to during the Vietnam War.

So, he took matters in his own hands and signed up for the Air Force, the same branch his father, Ernest Camp, had served in. His father was an electrician who worked on B-17s in World War II.

"Well, I didn't want to go traipsing through the jungle," Camp said. "And I wanted to be like my father. I thought all boys want to be like their father."

Joining the Air Force was something he did after he graduated from Magnolia High School and spent one year at Southern Arkansas University studying accounting. He joked that it was just as well that he did not continue with that degree because he is not particularly good at math.

Camp, 75, became a general mechanic as he served in Nha Trang, South Vietnam, beginning in 1966. He said there were hills around the hanger he worked but only one mortar explosion across the street from where his work area, and he does not remember anyone getting injured. At that time, he recalls, he was taking a nap, he said with a thankful smile.

The pride of the Air Force were planes that would become famous, and which Camp would get to work on while in the service. The AC-47 Spooky (also known as Puff the Magic Dragon), for example, was legendary in for both defeating the enemy and saving American troops.

They were originally C-47s used in World War II as cargo planes, but became AC-47 because they were transitioned to be utilized as attack planes.

"They had three Gatling guns and they could shoot 6,000 rounds a minute each," he said. "The guns are in the side window behind the wing."

There were more than 53 AC-47 Spooky aircraft produced. The plane was more than 64 feet long with a wingspan of more than 95 feet. The AC-47 has a cruise speed of 175 miles an hour, and a maximum speed of 235 miles an hour.

"When our airplanes were in the air, no village or military out port was over us, so we saved a lot of lives," Camp said. "They could stay in the air for hours at a time."

The reason the plane was called Spooky was that it appeared out of nowhere, like a ghost. The reason it was called Puff the Magic Dragon is because Viet Cong began calling it that after seeing it shoot red across the sky. What appeared as fireworks to villagers was the plane shooting tracers, Camp said.

"Every fifth round was a tracer so they could tell where they were shooting," he said.

As a member of the ground crew, Camp said he did fly in one of the aircrafts, but never got the chance to fly on a mission. He says he hopes young people continue to join the military, but he is glad his time is done.

"I liked the experience that I had, but I wouldn't like to go through it again," he said. "I would like them to join because somebody has got to protect us."

Before he got out of the military, Camp married a young woman he had spotted years earlier in Magnolia High School. Her name was Mary Camp, and she was just three months and 10 days older, he said.

When asked how he knew he loved her, he said it was simple.

"There are just feelings there and I decided. I knew she was the one I wanted," he said.

The Camps married and had two children, Charlie and Laura. Mary Camp passed away in March of 2019, just three months shy of her 50th wedding anniversary with Charles.

One of Camp's favorite pastimes since retirement from Reliance Well Service Inc. is spending mid-mornings at Mr. James' Delicious Food and having a sausage biscuit for breakfast. He said he is not sure if the gentlemen who stopped by to pay him a compliment is still living or not, but he holds on to what he said as he noticed Camp's "Spooky," ball cap.

"This guy came up and thanked me for us being there because he was one of those guys who was on the ground," Camp said.

These days Camp said he thoroughly enjoys his retirement and spoiling his cat named Little Man.

Sgt. Charles Camp worked on AC-47 Spooky aircrafts during his time in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War era. (Contributed)
Sgt. Charles Camp worked on AC-47 Spooky aircrafts during his time in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War era. (Contributed)

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