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Charlie Hopson Charlie Hopson was in the US Air Force from early 1943 through most of 1945. He was drafted when he was 27 years old. He walked from his home deep within Green Mountain to Burnsville, where he spent the night in a boarding house for a dollar. The next day he traveled by bus to Asheville to Fort Jackson, SC, then to Keesler Field, Mississippi for basic training. Las Vegas, Texas, Utah, Nebraska, Maine, and Iceland were just a few places he trained. His final destination was England. The real fighting began for him when he reached England. Charles had different jobs on his plane. He was a gunner, assistant engineer, bombardier, and assistant radio operator on B-17 airplanes. Mr. Hopson flew 33 missions in different countries, which included Germany, France, Holland, Poland, and Denmark. His comment about being in the air was, “They were everywhere.” He recalls their airplane being shot really bad once. It had 150 holes. Not only did he fly a B-17 Flying Fortress, but later when he came back to the US, he became an instructor on B-29’s and C-54 airplanes. Later Mr. Hopson went to Japan to help evacuate American prisoners. He received many medals and awards. He proudly wore the 568th Squadron medal on his shirt. On October 17, 1945, he was discharged. Staff Sergeant Charles Hopson married Ona Woody on August 3, 1946. They had 5 children, 2 girls and 3 boys. Mr. Hopson worked as a TV repairman for over 27 years. Then he retired for 5 years and then went back to work at OMC for another 8 years. He was involved in the school system, the Yancey County School Board, the Clearmont Volunteer Fire Dept., 4-H Club leader, Church treasurer, school bus driver, and numerous other school activities. Charles Evans Hopson celebrated his 91st birthday in December. He died two days later on December 22, 2007. Mr. Hopson lived a very dangerous, exciting, and full life. He will always be remembered as a World War II hero in Yancey County. |
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Pages authored by fifth grade Yancey County Schools Fifth Grade Students Special thanks to: French Broad Electric’s Bright Ideas Grant Yancey County Schools Foundation Grant 2007—2008 |
