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Retired Lt. Gen. Charles Pitman Sr., whose heroics helped stop 1973 New Orleans sniper attack, dies at 84
 [Stars and Stripes] NEW ORLEANS (Tribune News Service) ‐ The decorated U.S. Marine Corps pilot who risked his life and military career to help New Orleans police halt the Howard Johnson’s hotel sniper attack that shattered the quiet of a Sunday morning and claimed seven lives in 1973 died Feb. 13 following a lengthy battle with cancer, according to his family.Retired Lt. Gen. Charles "Chuck" Pitman Sr., whose heroics against Mark Essex that day earned him the eternal gratitude of city leaders and first responders, was 84. In nearly four decades as a Marine, which included three combat tours in Vietnam, Pitman earned numerous medals: Silver Stars for valor; Distinguished Flying Crosses; and a Purple Heart, among others. But in an interview with The Times-Picayune in 2013, Pitman said perhaps his proudest achievement was being named an honorary New Orleans Police Department captain for piloting the helicopter that turned the tide as police exchanged gunfire with Essex. Pitman never sought permission from his superiors to fly that mission, he said, only forgiveness. "The thing with him was, if you’re going to be a Marine, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do," his son, Charles Pitman Jr., said. "He was always happy he did what he did." Essex's crime spree began on New Year's Eve 1972, roughly six weeks after a clash between police and protesters at Southern University in Baton Rouge left two students dead. Essex ‐ who sympathized with the Black Panthers radical group ‐ went to New Orleans’ jail armed with a .44-caliber rifle and, hiding in the distance, fatally shot police cadet Alfred Harrell Jr. as he guarded a gate. Posted by: Besoeker 2020-02-20 |
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