Name: WO1 Gerald E. Niewenhous, Jr. (posthumously promoted)
Status: Killed In Action from an incident on 12/22/1969 while performing the duty of Aircraft Commander.
Age at death: 21.3
Date of Birth: 09/14/1948
Home City: Rockville, MD
Service: AV branch of the reserve component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: D/3/5 CAV
Major organization: 1st Aviation Brigade
Flight class: 68-21
Service: AV branch of the U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 15W-083
Short Summary: Struck in chest by small arms fire. Co-pilot landed the Cobra without damage using throttle control. Did not crash as records indicate.
Aircraft: AH-1G
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 100E = Attack Helicopter Pilot
Primary cause: Small Arms Fire
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: small arms fire
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: aircraft commander
Started Tour: 02/07/1969
"Official" listing: helicopter air casualty - other aircrew
Length of service: 02
Location: IV Corps.
Additional information about this casualty:
I was WO1 Niewenhous co-pilot on the date of his death. The official record indicates that the aircraft "crashed or was lost." Although Gerald was paralyzed after being hit and unable to remove his feet from his anti-torque pedals, I was able to safely land the aircraft using throttle control with no further damage to the aircraft.
From: Patrick Will
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
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Date posted on this site:
11/13/2023
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Casualty type: Hostile - died of wounds
single male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Religion: Episcopal (Anglican)
Burial information: ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, VA
The following information secondary, but may help in explaining this incident.
Category of casualty as defined by the Army: battle dead Category of personnel: active duty Army Military class: warrant officer
This record was last updated on 01/20/2021