Charles M. Gooch Interview, 2005-02-24 [MilColl OH 325]

NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES OFFICE OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY Military Collection State Archives of North Carolina Charles M. Gooch Interview Summary MilColl OH 325 Interviewee: Charles M. Gooch Interviewer: Iris Howell-de Nijs Interview Date: February 24, 2005 Interview Location: Raleigh, N.C. Interview Runtime: 1:22:44 Biographical Sketch Charles Milton Gooch Jr. was bom on March 17, 1947, in Raleigh, N.C., to Charles Milton and Janie Perry Gooch. Charles Gooch Jr. graduated from Broughton High School in Raleigh, N.C., in 1965. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on February 1 1, 1966, in Raleigh, N.C. Gooch completed basic training at Fort Gordon near Augusta, Georgia; Advanced Individual Training at Fort Sill near Lawton, Oklahoma; and paratrooper training at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia. With the completion of his training in July 1966, Gooch was sent to Germany, where he served with the 509th Airborne Battalion for nine months. He deployed to Vietnam in May 1967, first arriving at Pleiku Air Base in South Vietnam. He was then sent to Bien Hoa Air Base, and assigned to serve as a Squad Leader and Rifle Platoon Sergeant with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Gooch was wounded during an engagement with the North Vietnamese Army in Dak Рек in March 1968. He was airlifted to a hospital at Camp Drake in Japan for treatment; later, he was sent back to the United States to Womack Hospital at Fort Bragg, N.C. After he recovered from his injuries, Gooch was sent to Fort Benning to attend U.S. Army Ranger School, remaining there as a ranger instructor until December 1968. He was sent to Germany, where he served with the 509th Airborne Battalion until he was deployed to Vietnam in February 1971. During his second tour in Vietnam, Gooch served as a Ranger Team Leader with Company P, 75th Infantry (Ranger), which was based out of Quang Tri Combat Base. He was wounded in July 22, 1971, when his company was ambushed by the North Vietnamese Army. Gooch was airlifted to the U.S. Anny Hospital at Camp Zama in Japan initially. He was later sent to recover at Valley Forge Hospital in Pennsylvania, then to Martin Army Hospital at Fort Benning. 1