MISHAPs: 22 MAR 45 A/C: PV-1 Location: PI Strike: YES BUNO: 49627 Cause: MISSING DURING SEARCH IN BAD WEATHER; Lt. Cmdr. CHARLES M. WOOD & 4/MISS Contributed by Terry pb4y-2@sbcglobal.net [23FEB99]

"...CHARLES MILLS WOOD, JR - United States Naval Academy Class of 1940 http://www.usna.com/history/classof1940/W.htm...." [08FEB2003]

Charles Mills Wood, Jr. ("C.M." to his family and "Jughead" to his Naval Academy friends) was one of fourteen of the class of '40 who reported to USS NEVADA (BB36) upon graduation. During the two years, he served in NEVADA, Jug was assigned to communications. Ashore in Honolulu on December 7, 1941, he managed to get back on board while the Jap attack was still in progress. He stayed with NEVADA during salvage at Pearl Harbor and return to Bremerton for repairs and modernization.

In the summer of 1942, he married Nell Rice Wynn, his Naval Academy OAO and Ring Dance date. Orders to flight training brought detachment from NEVADA in October, 1942. In May, 1943, a son, Charles Mills Wood III was born; and Jug was perhaps even prouder of his son than most new fathers. (C.M. Wood III graduated from USNA in the class of 1965 and recently retired as a Commander, USN, after a career in submarines).

Upon completion of flight training, Jug was ordered to Patrol Bombing Squadron 149. After being stationed on Cape Cod and at Quonset Point, VPB 149 was ordered to the Pacific area and in February, 1945, arrived at Tacloban on Leyte Island, Philippines. On March 22, 1945, while on a routine patrol flight, which included an attack on a Japanese installation, Jug failed to return. He was declared missing and a year later was declared to be legally deceased. In 1950, a U.S. Army Graves Registration Team located a crashed PV1 bomber in the area where Jug's plane had last been contacted. The remains of those found in the crashed plane were subsequently identified as those of Jug and his crew. They are buried in a common grave at the Fort Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.

Jug was a good friend, an outstanding naval officer and a strong person of the highest integrity and character. He has been sorely missed, especially by his family and those of us who knew him best. (Submitted by Al Cook)

"...According to my notes and memories, the loss of the aircraft and crew commanded by Charles Wood on March 22, 1945, occurred on March 24. Here's the way I recall the situation: The squadron was based at Tacloban on the island of Leyte. A strike was made against a Japanese concentration at a sugar factory location known as La Carlota on the island of Negros. Perhaps four or five aircraft were involved. We made low level runs with guns, bombs, and rockets. Resistance minimal. A.J. St.Louis and I were pilots of the next to the last aircraft off the target. Weather bad. Lowering clouds were heavy. We flew eastward through a heavily forested mountain pass with little room below the clouds before turning north for the home field. Charles Wood was flying the last plane and may have followed us through the pass. If so, he would have been an easy target for the then alerted AA units. Of course, he could have been hit over the target, but we thought it less likely than the mountain-pass possibility. No traces of men or machine were ever found..." Contributed by William Russell Rexlee@email.msn.com [12FEB2000]

MISHAPs: 26 APR 45 A/C: PV-1 Location: NAS SAMAR Strike: NO BUNO: 33077 Cause: ADMINSTRATIVE FLT; 1 WHL LNDG Contributed by Terry pb4y-2@sbcglobal.net [23FEB99]

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MISHAPs: 06 JUN 45 A/C: PV-1 Location: SAMAR Strike: NO BUNO: 33069 Cause: NOT IN FLT; MECH FAIL Contributed by Terry pb4y-2@sbcglobal.net [23FEB99]

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