The Charles Reed Holden Story, Chapter 1, Beginnings


	Chapter 1 — Beginnings The Charles Reed Holden Story by Charles “Reed” Holden as told through William A. “Bill” Sutton Biographical notes and a special story of a WW II shoot-down and POW experience as related by a B-17 Ball Gunner:
Charles Reed Holden was born on Feb. 3, 1919 in the City of Port Jervis, N.Y., located in the southern tier of the state along the Delaware River.

			Charles attended the local school system and graduated from High School in 1936. After graduation he was employed for a short time at a local glass factory which is about two levels below a Siberian salt mine and it didn’t take long for Reed ( as he is known by most of his friends) to realize that a career change was necessary. In the mid-thirties the U.S. government instituted a program called the “Citizens Military Training Camp” at Plattsburg, N.Y. and Reed thought a military career sounded interesting and much better than working in a factory. He enlisted in July 1936 and by 1939 he had worked his way up to the rank of Sgt. After his tour of duty was up, he enlisted in the Army Reserve Corp. On January 31,1942 he received a letter from the Army Reserves to report for active duty at Fort Dix, N.J. Fortunately he was able to retain his rank of Sgt. and was shipped out to the 33rd. Infantry Division located in Tallahoma, TN. When Sgt. Holden reported in to the 33rd., he heard that President Roosevelt had ordered the Army to train 50,000 pilots, so he immediately applied for the Aviation Cadet Training Program.
Charles “Reed” Holden and friend “Reaching for the sky!” at age four. Reed Holden photo

	Charles “Reed” Holden Ready to learn, ready to serve
	After successfully completing the entry examination and physical he was sent to Kelly Field, San Antonio, Texas to begin his training as a pilot in the U.S. Army. Next stop was Santa Anna, California for flight training and finally to Castle Air Base, Merced, CA., where he flew the BT-13A ( a basic flight trainer ) logging about 60 hours of flight time and additional time in ground school.

		BT-13, Basic Flight Trainer
Finally the day came when he was assigned to a check pilot and after some routine instructions, they filed a flight plan, checked over their plane and prepared for take off into the wild blue yonder. After gaining sufficient altitude, the instructor put him through some routine maneuvers to see how he could handle the plane, then circled the field and landed. After taxiing to the tarmac, the instructor told Reed to taxi out to the runway and take off, circle the field and then land. The instructor left the plane and Reed knew that this was the big moment and that he had better be on the ball. He thought to himself, “If I mess up now, my career as a pilot will be over”. He taxied the BT-13 out to the runway and prepared for take off. The old trainer responded to the throttle and charged down the runway at full power and began to lift off. The plane seemed to be going straight up and Reed pushed forward on the stick to no avail, the plane would not respond, it was hanging on the prop. Suddenly! he heard the Tower call, “210, get your nose down”. Reed looked down to his left and grabbed the control for the flaps and the plane leveled off. He told me he thought that everyone breathed a little easier then, especially himself. He circled the field as instructed and came in for a perfect landing and taxied the plane back to the parking area. After securing the plane he looked around for the instructor but couldn’t find him. He slowly walked over to the ready room and located the instructor and asked him, “Were did you disappear to” and the instructor replied, “I can’t stand the sight of blood”. Reed thought to himself, well there goes my chance to be another “Eddie Rickenbacker”. After washing out as a pilot he was offered a chance to go to bombardier’s school which Reed declined, saying “The war will be over before I complete the school”. The powers that be decided that I would be better off as a passenger on the plane than a “Driver”, at which point I got a big horse laugh. They were right because I’m still here to tell the story. I sometimes can still hear the Tower calling, “210, get your nose down”. That was the unfortunate end to my career as a pilot. The Army then gave me a furlough so I could go home for a few days and lick my wounds and while I was home I married the most beautiful girl I had ever met, my school days sweetheart, Eleanor Rutan, on October 10,1943. End of Chapter 1 — Go To Chapter 2 Cover Page — Introductions — Table of Contents Chapter — 01 — 02 — 03 — 04 — 05 — 06 — 07 — 08 or Home - Contact Us - Cold War Hist. - 9 1st SRS Hist. - Stardust 40 Mission Story RB-29 Crew Hist. - Hiking Rural Japan - Extended Stories - Short Stories Biographical Notes - Current Commentary - Art Gallery - Fun Stuff - Education Programs - Locator- Reunions - Memorials - Cold War Museum Web Site