HOLDEN BEACH — Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Charles A. Aycock, 79, of Holden Beach, N.C., a U.S. Army Green Beret, died on Oct. 24, 2016. LTC Aycock lived in Holden Beach from 2004 to 2016, following his retirement. He was a dedicated husband, father and officer.
LTC Aycock was a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces Hall of Fame and the Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame. He was a Vietnam veteran who conducted long-range cross-border Hatchet force missions and was a member of the Phoenix program.
LTC Aycock was also a pioneering parachutist who trained for Special Atomic Demolition Munition missions, co-authored and edited the first formal Army field manual for military freefall operations, and was Special Forces Military Freefall Instructor No. 39.
Departing active duty, he became a full and part-time Army Reservist, where his service was highlighted by tours as the Commander of Company C, 3rd Battalion, 11th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Chief of Infantry and Special Forces Officer Management Branch, U.S. Army Reserve Personnel Center; and the Senior Reserve Advisor for the U.S. Army JFK Special Warfare Center and School. By the end of his military career, he had served in six different Special Forces Groups: 1st, 5th, 7th, 11th, 12th, and 20th.
Additionally, LTC Aycock was appointed as the Director of Evaluation for the N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program. He then served as an Army Civilian from 1987-2004 in multiple operations positions during wartime and crisis deployments culminating as the Chief of Theater Operations for Army Special Operations Command.
LTC Aycock was a lifetime member of Special Forces Association and named a Distinguished Member of the U.S. Army Special Forces Regiment. His military awards are highlighted by the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, multiple overseas campaign medals and foreign awards, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Military Freefall Jumpmaster Badge, and the Special Forces Tab.
Raised in Black Creek, N.C., LTC Aycock was a graduate of Lee Woodard High School. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of the State of New York and a Master of Business Administration from Webster University. He was also a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS, and the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, PA.
He was well known in the Special Forces community as a mentor and took a personal interest in the success of his associates. He was an expert pistol marksman and had a deep interest in modern military history. Known also as Dad, Granddad, “Charlie” and other terms of endearment, LTC Aycock was a deeply devoted husband and committed parent. His special relationship with his son and grandson are highlighted in the poignant book “Fathers and Sons,” written in 2000 by Todd Richissin. As is characteristic of many great leaders, he had a consummate tenderness with his loved ones that is carried and celebrated in the hearts of his wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
LTC Aycock is survived by his wife of 46 years, Anne Hussey Aycock, originally of West End, N.C.; and his children, Major General (Retired) Al and Sue Aycock, of Fayetteville, N.C.; Mr. Steven Aycock of Charlotte, N.C.; and Ms. Leigh-Anne Aycock Royster and her husband, Shawn, of Burlington, N.C. LTC Aycock also has five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his father and mother, Allison Algernon Aycock and Dora Mitchell Aycock of Black Creek, N.C.; his first wife, Rebecca Lucas Aycock of Lucama, N.C.; and his Grandson, Charles Alan Aycock of Fayetteville, N.C.
A memorial service for LTC Aycock will be held on Fort Bragg, N.C., in the JFK Memorial Chapel, at the intersection of Ardennes and Zabitosky, on Monday, Nov. 7, at 11 a.m. The family will receive friends at the Fellowship Hall of the Chapel after the service. Internment will be at a later time. Online condolences may be sent to www.shallottefunerals.com.
In lieu of flowers, donations are welcome to the Alan Aycock Memorial Scholarship Fund at First Baptist Church of Fayetteville, 201 Anderson Street, Fayetteville, NC, 28301. Services have been entrusted to White Funeral Service and Crematory, of Shallotte, N.C.