Charles G. Boyd was a retired four-star general in the U.S. Air Force and a homeland security expert.
- Died: March 23, 2022 (Who else died on March 23?)
- Details of death: Died in Haymarket, Virginia of complications of lung cancer at the age of 83.
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Military career
Boyd joined the U.S. Air Force in 1961, fulfilling a lifelong dream of being a pilot. He flew combat missions in the Vietnam War until he was shot down in 1966. Captured by the enemy, Boyd was a prisoner of war for seven years; for part of that time, he was imprisoned next to future Senator John McCain (1936–2018). When he was finally released in 1973, malnutrition had damaged his eyesight, making him unable to fly for the military. But he ascended up the ranks of the Air Force, becoming a four-star general in 1992. He was the only former Vietnam prisoner of war to achieve that ranking. Boyd was highly decorated with medals including the Air Force Cross, Silver Star, and Legion of Merit. He retired from the Air Force in 1995.
Homeland security
After his retirement, Boyd served as executive director of the Hart-Rudman Commission, which reviewed national security requirements for the 21st century. Their report, released months before the 9/11 attacks, warned of the threat of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Boyd was also senior vice president of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Notable quote
“Over the past three years, the commissioners and staff of the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century concluded that the most serious threat to this nation is the likelihood that Americans would die on their own soil — from a terrorist attack — likely in large numbers. They also concluded and testified before Congress that it may, sadly, take a disaster to awaken the country to the fact that the security environment has changed, and that the way we must respond to it must change as well. Now the disaster has struck, and while we may feel at the moment as though we are in a trance, we are, in fact, awakening.” —from Boyd’s essay for the Washington Post on September 12, 2001
Tributes to Charles G. Boyd
Full obituary: The New York Times
