Charles Christ served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a Lieutenant Colonel and Operations Officer in the 8th Air Force, Air Attache in Tehran during World War II. As Operations Officer he planned combat missions during the European operations, then trained P-51 Mustang pilots for combat against the Japanese. He was credited with shooting down a Messerschmitt 109 in aerial combat. On February 2, 1949, he was one of five Americans killed when a U.S. diplomatic plane crashed in Southern Iran. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters.
