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| Carl Berg Mitchell
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| NO. 17450 •
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Died 14 January 1964 in Vietnam, aged 35 years
Headstone placed in his honor in the West Point Cemetery, West Point, New York.
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CARL BERG MITCHELL, known as "Cully" to his family and
"Mitch" to his friends, was from Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, where his
mother had a farm originally homesteaded by his Anderson forebears. The farm,
town and his family were the home of Cully's heart since he began life in 1928
as an Army brat. His father, Carl Berg, graduated from West Point in 1920. He
married Mary English Anderson in 1922 and at the time of Cully's birth was
teaching at Culver Military Academy in South Bend, Indiana. A younger brother,
Corwin, arrived a few years after Carl and, until their father's suicide in
1938, the young family spent the majority of their time stationed in the South.
Cully's boyhood loves included golf, swimming, riding horses and spending
summers in Kentucky on the farm.
Carl's mother married Clark Mitchell, a family friend and fellow Army
officer (USMA '19), and their son, John Clark Mitchell, was subsequently born.
Clark adopted Cully and Corwin in 1941, the same year Cully left home to begin
his high school years at Culver as a boarder. Cully thrived at Culver, both
academically and at various intramural sports.
When he graduated, West Point appointments were hard to come by because
of the war, but Clark facilitated Cully's placement by sending him to
Sullivan's Prep in Washington, DC for a year. There Cully placed third out of a
thousand examinees on the Presidential Appointment Exam.
Cully became a plebe in 1946 and was a little more prepared than many of
his classmates for the discipline of military life. Although recognized for his
intellect, he also was known for taking the time to explain or review an
academic problem; to demonstrate a military
procedure; or to sit down and listen to a problem and consider it with
thoughtfulness. He was, however, a notorious teaser, to the extent that he
mortified people at times. His roommate, just married and preparing to leave on
his honeymoon, found a letter from a former girlfriend conspicuously planted
amongst his belongings.
Cully did well at West Point and his desire to fly led to his commission
into the Air Force. While attending Basic Pilot Training in Sherman, Texas, he
and his cohorts often went to Dallas. During this time he began to date Colleen
Hill, whose mother, Irene, was occasionally serenaded late in the evening with
"Goodnight Irene" by Cully and his buddies. In August of 1951, with
new wings on his unifonn, he and
Colleen were married.
By February of 1952 Cully was assigned as a B‑29 pilot to the 50th
Bomb Squadron, 9th Bomb Wing, Travis Air Force Base, California, and became a
part of Strategic Air Command (SAC) and its expanding nuclear deterrent. At the
onset, he not only demonstrated that he was a fine pilot and a promising young
officer but also showed tremendous dedication. He took advantage of
opportunities to do more, volunteering to serve as the squadron ground training
officer and as the squadron security officer. After he and his B‑29 crew
achieved combat ready status, they began frequent overseas deployments for
training and nuclear alert operations.
By the mid 50s, Cully and his young family were stationed at
Mountain Home AFB, Idaho where Michael and Shelly were born. Mary Elizabeth,
the eldest, had been born in Dallas while Cully was away on a mission. Cully
was assigned to the 9th Bomb Wing, which was transitioning to the all‑jet
B‑47 bomber, the centerpiece of SAC's nuclear deterrent force. Cully
worked hard with his crew and they achieved the highest crew level within SAC
Select Crew Status. Cully advanced from assistant squadron operations officer
to squadron adjutant to aircraft commander, demonstrating his excellent
abilities as a pilot and as a resourceful leader of men.
The nature of Cully's assignments and his inherent talents led to his
interest in the acquisition process for both the advanced manned strategic
aircraft and the advanced ballistic missile systems. When he became eligible
for career diversification, he was selected to attend the University of
Michigan where he received his masters, with honors, in astronautical and
aeronautical engineering in 1961.
His next assignment was to Air Force Systems Command Ballistics Systems
division in Los Angeles and then San Bernardino, California as a management
systems officer. He was appointed by Headquarters, AFSC as a primary team
member to define the AFSC management approach to
systems definition, earning him the Air Force Commendation Medal and
recognition by his commanding officer as "the most outstanding officer of
his grade in the entire organization."
Cully's love of flying never diminished, however, and with the expansion
of US involvement in Vietnam in 1963, he decided to volunteer as an Air Force
advisor and B‑26 pilot. Cully was keenly aware that many of his
classmates had served in the Korean War, and he felt that his military career
would not be complete without combat experience.
Cully left his family on 14 November 1963 to join the Air Command
Squadron at Bien Hoa, Vietnam where he began flying combat missions in support
of friendly ground forces. His last mission. with his copilot, Vincent J.
Hickman, and their Vietnamese observer, was on 14 January 1964. It was
subsequently recorded by Lieutenant Lee Kaster in a letter dated June 1964 as
follows:
"On 14 January 1964, Cully and Vince were scrambled at 1800 and
instructed to rendezvous with their Forward Air Control for a strike on VC structures.
At 1810, the FAC marked a target with smoke and told them to drop napalm on it.
Cully dropped two cans squarely on it. During the pass, the FAC noticed
groundfire about 100 meters north of
the target. He told CulIy and Vince about it, and Cully answered. "Roger,
we'll come around and hit it." As he started his final approach. the plane
nosed in and crashed into the jungle."
Cully was posthumously awarded the nation's second highest medal for
valor, the Air Force Cross, and the citation read:
"Major Carl B. Mitchell distinguished himself by extraordinary
heroism during low‑level flight operations against heavily defended enemy
positions. Despite heavy machine gun fire, which repeatedly struck his
aircraft, Major Mitchell aggressively continued his efforts to locate and
destroy the machine gun installations until his badly damaged aircraft crashed
and burned."
The death of a man in his prime is never easy to understand, and Cully
had much to live for ‑ to see his children grow up, to return to his
"old Kentucky home" and to farm. He was a dedicated and accomplished
Air Force officer who gave his life for what he believed in, and that is a
privilege. He has been loved and missed by many for the past 30 years.
-Prepared by classmates and family
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USMA 1950