Charles H. Pitman


Charles Henry Pitman Sr. was a lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps who served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Aviation. He retired in 1990 and died in 2020 from cancer. He was also involved in the 1980 Operation Eagle Claw.

1973 shooting

On January 7, 1973 Mark Essex went on a racially motivated killing spree against whites in New Orleans, eventually barricading himself on the roof of a high-rise hotel. Lt. Colonel Pitman commandeered a CH-46 military helicopter to assist the police officers. Pitman landed the helicopter near the hotel, taking on armed officers and flew over the hotel. By this time, Essex had retreated to the roof of the building, from where he and men in the helicopter exchanged many rounds over many hours. As nightfall came, the gunman took cover in a concrete cubicle on the southeast side of the roof. As he stepped out in the open to fire again on the helicopter, and after hitting the helicopter's transmission, Essex was fatally shot numerous times by police sharpshooters positioned on the roofs of adjacent buildings, as well as the automatic weapons aboard the helicopter. An autopsy later revealed he had more than 200 gunshot wounds.