W1FH, Charlie
Charlie received the first
postwar DXCC certificate ever
issued by the ARRL in both
mixed and phone in 1947. His
first DXCC certificates were
returned to ARRL HQ upon his
passing.
A brick marking W1FH DXCC
#1 was set into the ARRL HQ
Diamond Patio. Be sure to see it
when you visit Newington. It is in
the lowest right hand corner of
the left side patio as you face
the entrance. The first spot for
DXCC #1 seems entirely
appropriate.
When the sorted facts
surrounding Don Millers
(W9WNV) irregular DX
operations toward DXCC
became public, Charlie withdrew
from further submissions to his
DXCC. Eventually, his call was
dropped from the DXCC listings
due to inactivity. However, he
continued to work DX and send
for QSL cards but simply kept
them stored in boxes.
DXCC had changed forever for
him as well as for many others
at that time. Without W1FH in
the game, the DX world had
forever become a little smaller.
With permission of Charlie's wife
Mary and his daughter Jill, the
Southern New England DX
Association took his famous call
for the clubs call. Doing so will
retain this famous DX call within
the world of DX for others to
work in contests and pile-ups for
years to come.