Lt. Commander Charles W. Marik of Oakland, Missouri began his tour of duty on Jun 25 1966. He was killed in Vietnam while serving in the United States Navy and is honored on Panel 8E, Row 93 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He was a Distinguished graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland in the Class of 1963. On June 25, 1966, Lieutenant JG Marik and Lieutenant Commander Richard M. Weber, pilot, were the crew of an A-6A from the U.S.S. Constellation on a combat mission against the Hoi Thuong Barracks, a coastal target in northern Vietnam. Their aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire in the tail section during a bombing run on the target and the pilot found the aircraft was not responding to control. Both crewmen bailed out and the pilot was in contact with Lieutenant Marik while descending but did not observe him actually land in the water. The pilot landed in the water approximately 3-5 miles from the beach in the South China Sea. After landing he shouted for Lieutenant JG Marik and fired his weapon into the air but never received a response. An airborne SAR force rescued Commander Weber but was unable to locate any trace of Marik after a four hour search. [Cdr Hugh Magee reports "... the A6 had been shot down in the vicinity of Vinh and the two were in the water about 1/4 mile off the Vinh beach, under mortar fire from bunkers on the beach. Upon arriving on the seen, Cdr Magee, "Busy Bee 604" could see "one survivor in the water; and several hundred yards toward the beach, a large greenish dye marker, but could not see the second survivor..." Seconds later, Cdr Magee was hit by a 85mm anti aircraft shell. He jettisoned fuel, ejected with a good chute, and was picked up a short time later. Once hoisted inside the rescue helo, Cdr Magee found the wet figure of LT R.M. Weber. One of the crewmen stated they thought Marik had taken a direct mortar hit, Weber suffering only minor injuries. Weber said he had little hope his crewman would be found. The search continued until fuel became critical, to no avail. Two of three survivors were rescued under intense enemy fire -- the most successful rescue to date involving similar incidents. Those involved felt a sadness at the loss of Ltjg Marik, but felt it was not due to any failure of the rescue operation. Today, Magee's Skyhawk "Charlie" A4-C, #149567 rests in peace on the Gulf of Tonkin floor - devoid of canopy, seat and pilot. He retired in 1972 from the Navy, and in 1992 from the private sector.]

Lieutenant JG Marik was declared missing in action. Returning U.S. POWs had no information on his precise fate. In May 1973 he was declared killed in action, body not recovered, based on a presumptive finding of death.