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| Charles Earnest Helfrich - (M/Sgt. U. S. Air Force Retired) |
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 I was born June 25, 1932
in Washington, DC, and my parents were Herman Andrew Helfrich (M/Sgt. U. S. Army
Retired) and Mary Elizabeth McCoy Helfrich. This picture of me to the
left was taken when I was only a few months old in 1932.
Our grandchildren may be interested in the fact that I was a seven month baby, and my only brother and I were both born in Walter Reed General Hospital, in Washington, DC. (See photo of the hospital to the right as it was in 1932 and on the left below as it is today (2005.)
However, we had cousins to spend time with in Pittsburgh, PA (my dad's home) and the summers in Tazewell, VA (my mother's home), and we were all close throughout the years. We all were just innocent victims of deprivation. Click on any of these pictures to see a larger version, including the two below. I am on the left in both pictures below, with my brother.
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This is Sonny and
me - I am on the left. Sonny and I spent a lot of summers on our
However, if you look at this picture to the left here, don't we look like angels? I am on the left, and those knee high pants were the rage at that time in our history. Here are some elementary school pictures of me below in the 1940's
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| Sonny and I went to Mt. Troy Elementary School in Mt. Troy, PA, which is a suburb of Pittsburgh. One memory (my misfortune -and not necessarily a pleasant memory) was to get a teacher (Mrs. Ross) who had also taught my brother and our dad.  Mother, Sonny and I went as some of the first
dependents to Germany, immediately upon the conclusion of WW II, where our
dad was stationed at Giessen. The devastation of the war was
sad to see. My brother and I both attended school in
Frankfort, Germany. We both learned enough German to be able to converse
with the German population. This is a charcoal profile that was done
of me by a German artist in Giessen, Germany in 1948.
Later, when I returned to Germany in the military myself, it came in
handy, being able to speak the language, even though it was not
fluently. While in school, I played the clarinet in the band, was on the basketball team, was a member of the German Club and sang as a tenor in the high school choir. The pictures to the right are of Taylor Allderdice High School, (click to enlarge) with the first one being an aerial view of the school. I worked part time in a bowling alley during high school, with the fun job of picking up the pins and lining them back up, before the new age of machines took over that task.
The picture on the left was my senior picture from
Taylor Allderdice High School. I think I
I graduated, and on June 25, 1950, on my 18th birthday, the Korean Conflict began. I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force the next day, June 26, 1950. My military career in the air police field, began at Barksdale Air Force Base, in Bossier City, LA, and finished 20 years later at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, in September 1970. Here are two pictures of my brother and me below in 1953. I am on the left and Sonny is on the right.
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While stationed at Barksdale AFB, I met my wife, Jacqueline (Jackie) Josey,
in Shreveport,
LA, and we were married October 3, 1952.
Here is a picture to the right at Bitburg AFB, Germany, where I am looking at a
photo of Jackie while I am waiting for her and Bill to join me for a three year
tour. That marriage produced four
sons and seven grandchildren. The family settled in Tampa, FL in 1970, where I
pursued a second career at Sunnybrook Dairy and then later T. G. Lee Dairy, as
Branch Manager in Winter Haven, FL. I then retired for a short period, and
pursued a third career with Kash N Karry on Swann Avenue in Tampa, FL.
During this 20 year career, I was awarded the Air Force Commendation
Medal 
on two different occasions, the first at Clark AFB in the Philippines, and
the second at Hickam AFB in Hawaii. I was also awarded Air Policeman of
the Month three different times and Air Policeman of the Year while stationed at
Barksdale AFB. Among my most poignant memories and achievements in the air police
field were when I served as flag bearer at numerous honor guard ceremonies, and
memorial services. The first two years of my career, I was the bearer of
the American flag and then was promoted and put in charge of the honor
guard. I remember the first time the flag that was on the casket was
folded down to me; I did the last fold and then went over to present the flag to
the widow of the airman who had been killed in Korea. It was something I
will always remember; a very difficult time for me. I felt myself feeling
sadder for the two little children about three and four years old, who would
never know their dad. After about two years of that, I realized that I was
becoming numb to it all and decided it was time to get out of it.
 Click to see definition of medal Then click in lower right corner  |
It was
quite an honor to be selected as NCOIC of the elite Air Police Precision Drill Team at
Bitburg AFB, Germany. I found that to be exciting with the twirling,
marching and throwing the rifles (with the bayonets) up in the air for
exchanges with each other. We traveled and performed at many
installations. That was a period of my life where I felt the adrenaline
rush each time we stepped onto the show floor. Please visit that page of photos,
listed under the Helfrich-McCoy lines on the Main Index of Names page as
"Helfrich,
Charles Earnest - Precision Drill Team" or just click on this
hyperlink.
 1950 Lackland AB, TX |
 1950 Camp Gordon GA |
 January 7, 1952 Barksdale AFB, LA |
 1954 Bitburg AFB, Germany |
 Chuck and Rich - 1950 Camp Gordon, GA |
 Chuck - 1951 Barksdale AFB, LA
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 Chuck - 04-28-51 Barksdale AFB, LA |
 Camp Gordon - 1950 |
 Air Policeman of Month - 1952 |
 Roll Call - 1953 Barksdale AFB I am on the left  1953 - Barksdale AFB I am on the front right |
 Bitburg AFB Germany - 1954 |
One particular memory that has stood out in my military career was the day when I was serving in the position of NCOIC
of the honor guard at Whiteman AFB in Missouri. We were all waiting on the
ramp for the arrival of General Humfeld, SAC Commander, and a big ceremony was planned. Then,
the news came in that President Kennedy had just been assassinated, the
general's plane was diverted, and all
ceremonies had been cancelled.
Everyone was glued to their television sets during the following days. We were all in shock. As a nation, that time seemed to mark the loss of our innocence. Here is one picture to the left of me - second from the left, carrying the American flag and another one on the right here with an "X" above my head.
 Click to enlarge and 2nd click on lower right 1965 - Honor Guard - Whiteman AFB, MO - Chuck carrying American flag - 2nd from left |
 1955 - Click here (then a second lower right click) to see me with an "X" above me.
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 Chuck's military ribbons |
1969
Tours of duty included Barksdale AFB, LA; Bolling AFB, Washington, DC; Bitburg AFB, Germany; Whiteman AFB, MO; K. I. Sawyer AFB, MI; Clark AFB, Philippines; and Hickam AFB, Hawaii. During the assignments at Whiteman AFB, and Hickam AFB, I was active in the Cub Scouts/Boy Scouts of America, serving as Cub Master at Whiteman AFB, and Assistant Scout Master/Committee Chairman in Hawaii. I was also active in the base chapel at Whiteman AFB as head usher for several years. During my tenure at Clark AFB, I served as the NCOIC of the town patrol headquarters. While stationed at Hickam AFB, I worked in Headquarters PACAF, Provost Marshall General’s Office as a Statistical Analyst. I came to MacDill AFB to retire in 1970, completing a 20 year career.
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| Click on each award above and then click lower right corner to enlarge again |
 My A.F. retirement - September 1, 1970 |
 My dad and me - two retirees-09-01-1970 |
 05-2011-My brother, Bo, found this old mess tray & sent it to Chuck  Chuck said it really brought back some fond memories - Thanks, Bo |
We spent our early years in Pittsburgh, PA.
Those were some tough days with the depression, but we survived. 
She even got a sightseeing tour guide to take us
on a tour of Pittsburgh. Can you believe that she actually had
tracked down our school class president, Sam, (see the picture of him
and me on the left here) and had him play the role of the
tour guide? I did not recognize him after 40 years, and they used a
bogus name for him. Then,
Jackie said she would like to see the school that I went to, and Sam
pulled off at that intersection. We just went up to take pictures,
with my never knowing anything. People were coming in and out of
the school, so we went in to take some more pictures, and went in to
check out the gymnasium, only to see 1950 CLASS REUNION BANNERS!! 
cemeteries than
we can count, and took pictures of their headstones and/or documented
where they were buried, until we can get headstones for them if they did
not have one. The picture to the right is one of the times (1995)
when we
went back to my roots and did some more researching in Tazewell,
VA. And, the picture to the left is the home my mother grew up in,
and where we spent our summers as children. It was fun stomping back through the area where I grew
up. Life has been full for us. 
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