Charles Herman Older (September 29, 1917 – June 17, 2006) was an American who was the third highest scoring ace of the

American Volunteer Group The American Volunteer Groups were volunteer air units organized by the United States government to aid the Nationalist government of China against Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The only unit to actually see combat was the 1st AVG, po ...

(the "

Flying Tigers The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States ...

") and later the judge in the

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...

murder trial.

Early life

Older was born in

Hanford, California Hanford is a city and county seat of Kings County, California, located in the San Joaquin Valley region of the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley. The population was 53,967 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History ...

on September 29, 1917. He earned a degree in political science from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the Californ ...

in 1939.

Military service

He became a pilot in the

Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned p ...

, but resigned to join the

, better known as the Flying Tigers, to fight the Japanese prior to the United States entry into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. 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. In 1950, he was called back to active duty, flying the

Douglas B-26 Invader The Douglas A-26 Invader (designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965) is an American twin-engined light bomber and ground attack aircraft. Built by Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II, the Invader also saw service during several major ...

in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

Law career

He graduated from

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

law school in 1952. After a distinguished legal career, he was appointed to the bench of the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civi ...

by Governor

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

in 1967. Older served for 20 years before retiring. His most famous case was the Charles Manson trial. The trial lasted 10 months, the longest in American history at the time. Prosecutor

Vincent Bugliosi Vincent T. Bugliosi Jr. (; August 18, 1934 – June 6, 2015) was an American prosecutor and author who served as Deputy District Attorney for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office between 1964 and 1972. He became best known for s ...

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

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their o ...

Death

On June 17, 2006, he died at the age of 88 of complications from a fall in his home in

West Los Angeles West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped differently by di ...

. He was survived by his wife, Catherine Day Older, and three daughters.

References

External links

Autobiography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Older, Charles 1917 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American judges United States Marine Corps officers Flying Tigers American World War II flying aces United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War American Korean War bomber pilots Aviators from California California state court judges USC Gould School of Law alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in California