Charles Older
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Short description|American flying ace (1917–2006)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Charles Older
| image = Charles Older.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Older onboard his P-51 Mustang during World War II
| office = Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court
| term_start = 1967
| term_end = 1987
| appointer = Ronald Reagan
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1917|09|29}}
| birth_place = Hanford, California, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2006|06|17|1917|09|29}}
| death_place = West Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| resting_place=
| spouse =
| relations =
| alma_mater = University of California, Los Angeles
University of Southern California
| occupation = Judge, lawyer and fighter pilot
| nickname =
| allegiance = {{flagu|United States|1960|size=23px}}
| branch = United States Marine Corps Reserve
United States Army Air Forces
United States Air Force Reserve
| serviceyears= 1940–1945
1950–1952
| rank = Lieutenant colonel
| unit =
| commands =
| battles = World War II
Korean War
| mawards = Distinguished Flying Cross (2)
Bronze Star Medal
Air Medal (2)
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
Order of the Cloud and Banner (China)
}}
Charles Herman Older (September 29, 1917 – June 17, 2006) was an American judge and flying ace. He was the third highest scoring ace of the American Volunteer Group (the "Flying Tigers"){{cite web|last=Rossi |first=J.R. |url=http://www.flyingtigersavg.22web.org/3squad.htm |title=3rd Squadron Roster The Flying Tigers |work=The Flying Tigers – American Volunteer Group – Chinese Air Force}} and later the judge in the Charles Manson murder trial.{{cite news |title=Charles Older, 88; Presided Over Manson Trial |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 17, 2006 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/23/AR2006062301588.html}}
Early life
Older was born in Hanford, California, on September 29, 1917.{{cite news |title=Charles H. Older, 88, Judge Who Presided at Manson Trial, Dies |author=Douglas Martin |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 21, 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/21/us/21older.html}} He earned a degree in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1939.
Military service
File:CharlesOlderP40BKunming.jpg in Kunming, China]]
Older became a pilot in the Marine Corps Reserve, but resigned to join the American Volunteer Group, better known as the Flying Tigers, to fight the Japanese prior to the United States entry into World War II. A member of the 3rd Pursuit Squadron (the "Hell's Angels"), he is credited with 10 victories, making him a double ace. By the end of the war, he had been promoted to lieutenant colonel.{{cite book|last=Ford|first=Daniel|title=Tales of the Flying Tigers: Five Books About the American Volunteer Group, Mercenary Heroes of Burma and China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zze8CwAAQBAJ&pg=PT117|access-date=April 25, 2017|date=March 14, 2016|publisher=Daniel Ford|pages=117–}}
In 1950, he was called back to active duty, flying the Douglas B-26 Invader in the Korean War.
Law career
He graduated from University of Southern California School of Law in 1952.{{cite news |title=Manson case judge also a war hero |author=Jocelyn Stewart |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=July 7, 2006 |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/obituaries/manson-case-judge-also-a-war-hero/2006/07/06/1152175718278.html}} After a distinguished legal career, he was appointed to the bench of the Los Angeles Superior Court by Governor Ronald Reagan in 1967. Older served for 20 years before retiring.
His most famous case was the Charles Manson trial.{{cite web|last=Rossi |first=J.R. |url=http://www.flyingtigersavg.22web.org/bio-older.htm |title=Older biography |work=The Flying Tigers – American Volunteer Group – Chinese Air Force}} The trial lasted 10 months, the longest in American history at the time. Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi praised Older for his firm, but fair, handling of the difficult case. At one point, Manson tried to attack the judge and had to be restrained by bailiffs.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}
Death
On June 17, 2006, he died at the age of 88 of complications from a fall in his home in West Los Angeles. He was survived by his wife, Catherine Day Older, and three daughters.
References
{{portal|Biography}}
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.usshawkbill.com/tigers/chuck.htm Autobiography]
{{Top US World War II Aces}}
{{Manson Family}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Older, Charles}}
Category:20th-century American judges
Category:United States Marine Corps officers
Category:American World War II flying aces
Category:United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War
Category:American Korean War bomber pilots
Category:Aviators from California
Category:California state court judges
Category:USC Gould School of Law alumni
Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni
Category:Accidental deaths from falls