 Col. Charles E. McGee was born December 7, 1919, in Cleveland, Ohio. He was sworn into the enlisted reserve on October 26, 1942, and entered Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Training. He received his silver wings and a commission as 2nd Lieutenant on June 30, 1943, as a member of Class 43-F, Tuskegee Army Air Field, SE Flying Training Command.
In his 30 years of active duty he became a command pilot with over 6,100 total hours. He flew fighter aircraft combat tours in three major military conflicts, the P-39, P-47 and P-51 with the 302nd Fighter Squadron in Italy during WWII, the F-51 with the 67th Fighter Bomber Squadron in Korea, and the RF-4C with the 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (TRS) in Viet Nam. He commanded the 44th Fighter Bomber Squadron in the Philippines in 1951-53, the 7230th Support Squadron in Italy 1961-63, the 16th TRS 1967-68, and the 1840th Air Base Wing and Richards-Gebaur AFB, Missouri, in 1972. He retired from active duty on January 31, 1973, with 409 missions— the highest three-war total in USAF history.
Colonel McGee's awards include the Legion of Merit with Oak Left Cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with Two Clusters, Bronze Star, Air Medal with 25 Clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with Cluster, Presidential Unit Citation, Korean Presidential Citation, The Hellenic Republic WWII Commemorative Medal and several campaign and service ribbons. He holds a BA in Business Administration, Columbia College. In the civilian arena served as Director of Real Estate and Purchasing for ISC Financial Corp., Vice President of Real Estate for its subsidiary, Interstate Securities Co. He later managed the Kansas City, Missouri downtown airport and retired from this endeavor in 1982. Since then he has been active in church and charity work, and served as President of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc. from 1983-85.
Colonel McGee and his late wife, the former Frances E. Nelson of Champaign, Illinois, reared three children, became grandparents of ten and great grandparents of three. Colonel McGee now resides in Bethesda, Maryland where he moved in 1995 after calling Kansas City, Missouri home for twenty-two years. He now enjoys four additional great grandchildren and remains active fraternally with the Airmen Association, and in his church.
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