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| This site owned by Jackie Lane |
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| Cpl. Gary L. Holz, 1ST. AIR CAV. KIA Oct. 8 1967,
Phanthiet Vietnam, Door Gunner. Died from burns in route to burn center in Japan. 1. Pic of Gary the day before his Chopper went down. |
| THE PICTURES WERE SENT TO ME BY GARY'S BROTHER RON |
| Auburn Globe-News 11 Oct 1967
Gary Holz in Fatal Viet 'Copter Crash - Gary LeRoy Holz, 22, former resident of 812 26th St. S. E., Auburn, died in Vietnam, Sunday, as a result of burns and injuries received in a helicopter crash Thursday. Born in Fargo ND, 17 May 1945, he moved to the Steel Lake area in 1952, attended Washington Elementary, Cascade Junior High and graduated from Auburn High School in 1963. Gary worked for Glenn Rockey Construction Co., two years before enlisting in the Army 7 Sep 1966. He had his basic training at Fort Lewis and volunteered for duty in Vietnam last April. Shot down earlier in Vietnam, he was a helicopter gunner with the 227th Aviation Battalion, Ft. Airborn Division [sic]. Surviving, all of Auburn, are his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Vernon H. Holz; a son, Martin Bradley Holz; a half brother, Dallas Lindsey; a brother, Pvt. Ronald V. Holz, U. S. Army, stationed in Thailand; a sister, Jo Ann and his grandmothers: Mrs. Pauline Aure and Mrs. Laura Holz. His body is being escorted back to Auburn by his brother with services to be arranged by the Price-Helton Funeral Chapel. The Circumstances: "On 5 Oct 1967, Holz was aboard a UH-1H helicopter as a door gunner, along with two pilots and a crew chief. Holz, a supplyman by training, apparently wanted to get into some of the action. While his records show that he was with Headquarters (HHC), he was actually with A Company that day when they went to take off. "The location was Landing Zone (LZ) Betty near Phan Thiet, the capital of Binh Thuan Province - northeast of Saigon on the South China Sea. This particular helicopter was new, and had just been upgraded from a UH-1D to a -1H to increase its power and speed. They were scrambling to go pick up some troops and insert them just north of Phan Thiet where contact had been made." Pfc Holz was the only survivor, but died of wounds sustained three days later Additional Note: On 05 Oct 1967 a new UH-1H (tail number 66-16803) of Company A, 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion, was in formation flight on final approach. At approximately 100 feet altitude, the aircraft pitched up to 90 degrees nose high attitude, rolled right, crashed inverted, and burned. Although the aircraft crashed into a troop area, only one person on the ground was injured - but all four crewmen died: • WO Ralph E. Bowen, Jackson, MI, pilot • WO Donald R. Phipps, San Jose, CA, copilot • CPL Gary L. Holz, Auburn, WA, gunner (died 10/08/1967) • PFC Stanley R. Uding, San Pablo, CA, crew chief |
| Ron & Gary Holz- when we were young( I'am the little guy with blond hair ? Ron) |
| You can also see more about Ron on my Vietnam page. |
