More detail on this person: Roy Charles Gentry, 78, passed away on December 1, 2013. He was
born on a farm near Dexter, New Mexico on August 10, 1935, he married Gerry DeSmith Hardy on June
25, 1994 in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
Charles graduated high school in Roswell, New Mexico in 1952 and New Mexico Military Institute in
1956. While attending NMMI, Charles was elected All-Conference in football for four years as well as
winning the State Golden Gloves boxing heavyweight title. He was inducted into the NMMI Hall of
Fame in 1986.
Upon graduation, he entered the Army Corps of Engineers. During active duty he flew Army fixed and
rotary wing aircraft with four overseas assignments in Germany, Libya, Iran and Vietnam. Charles
was medically discharged in 1966 as the result of wounds sustained when his helicopter was shot down
in Vietnam. During his military service, he received the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Distinguished
Flying Cross and numerous Air Medals.
Charles graduated top student at Texas Tech School of Law in 1969 and served as a trustee of the
Texas Tech Law Foundation. Before entering private law practice in Washington, D.C., Dallas, and
Austin, he served as Legislative Director for U.S. Senator Pete Domenici, Special Assistant to the
Attorney General as a White House Fellow, legal advisor to the National League of Families of POW's
and MIA's in Vietnam, and Director of the Clean Lakes Program at the newly created Environmental
Protection Agency. In 1992 he returned to Washington, D.C. as Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Pete
Domenici. Upon public service retirement, he consulted in Washington, D.C. on public policy issues
related to science and nuclear weapons.
After retirement, he and his wife Gerry logged thousands of miles in overseas travel, as well as
domestic adventures in their RV. Their home was a log cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
In 2005, they moved to Tierra Linda Ranch in Kerrville, Texas.
Those left to cherish and honor Charles' memory are his wife, Gerry Gentry of Kerrville; one son,
one daughter, one sister, four grandchildren, one nephew along with many neighbors and friends.
Memorials may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, Kerrville Humane Society or the charity of
your choice.
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
Please send additions or corrections to: HQ@vhpa.org VHPA Headquarters
Return to the Helicopter Pilot DAT name list
Return to VHPA web site
Date posted on this site: 01/11/2025
Copyright © 1998 - 2024 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association