Charles Allen Jackson

CHARLES ALLEN JACKSON, 79, of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, husband of Marty Lehder Jackson, flew west on Friday, August 15, 2025. His memorial service will be held Thursday, September 11, 2025, in Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Congregation, 90 Hasell Street at 11 a.m. Interment will be held on September 19 at the United States Air Force Academy. The family will receive friends following the service in the Social Hall. Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. West Ashley Chapel.
Chuck was born April 3, 1946, in Charleston, West Virginia. He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1969. During his distinguished Air Force career, Chuck held aeronautical ratings of navigator and pilot. In June of 1972, Capt. Jackson was engaging in a bombing run at the Thai Nguyen Steelworks when a group of North Vietnamese MIGs intercepted the mission. His plane was shot down by an air-to-air missile.
He was captured near a tiny village not far from the Laotian border in Son La Province. The villagers subsequently turned him over to the militia after insisting on providing him with food and rest. During the march out of the mountains, Chuck had two documented escape attempts. Subsequently he ended up becoming a Prisoner of War (POW) for eight months being held captive in various North Vietnamese prisons, including the Hanoi Hilton.
In January 2017, Chuck and his wife, Marty, embarked on a unique journey. Chuck had long wanted to return to the tiny, remote, mountain village in North Vietnam to thank the residents for the kindness of food and rest shown him 45 years earlier. During the visit to Muong Gio Village, several of Chuck's captors were present along with the widows of others. For Chuck, the opportunity to thank these people for their kindness and care was an act of gratitude beyond measure. In 2018 Chuck returned to Vietnam to meet Senior Col. Nguyen Van Nhgia, the pilot who had shot his plane down in 1972. The two men had the opportunity to discuss their missions and their lives since that fateful day.
Upon leaving the Air Force, Edwin Pearlstine helped Chuck and his brother, Larry, open Salters Bar & Grill, a popular King Street watering hole. After retiring from an administration position at Naval Hospital Charleston, he owned Dune Ridge Group, an SDVOSB with his wife, Marty.
Chuck was a member of the 4th Allied POW Wing, a life member of the Red RiverValley Fighter Pilots Association, NAMPOW, Disabled Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post on the Coast, Jewish War Veterans and was a past commander of American Ex-POWs Lowcountry Chapter. He was a past member of the Charleston Yacht Club and a founding member of the Wild Dunes Yacht Club. He was actively involved in his synagogue, Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, where he was a member of the first adult B'nai Mitzvah class in 1989. He served as an officer of the Board of Trustees and was a regular sukkah builder for the Brotherhood.
Along with his wife of 29 years, Chuck is survived by his son, Wiley Harris (Dieu Anh Phung) Jackson; two brothers, Larry (Sharon) Jackson, Jim (Evelyn) Jackson; nephew, Matt Jackson; niece, Kim (Steve) Johnson; along with a bevy of great nieces and nephews, close cousins and their extended families.
Memorials may be made to KKBE Endowment Fund or the US Air Force Academy Foundation.
A memorial message may be sent to the family by visiting our website at www.jhenrystuhr.com.