Retired NYPD inspector, Marine vet known as ‘American hero,’ dies at 79

Charles Wells, a retired NYPD inspector and Vietnam veteran, has died aged 79. He served for 37 years, disarmed more than 100 bombs and led the NYPD/FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force after the 11 September attacks, earning praise as a decorated officer and public servant.

Wells was wounded in Vietnam in 1967 and received the Purple Heart before joining the police. He spent 13 years in the Bomb Squad and received the department’s Medal of Honor and Medal of Valor; several hundred people attended his funeral in Staten Island, where he was remembered as both a dedicated officer and a devoted family man.