More detail on this person: Gary Wayne Dombroski, CW4 US Army Aviation (Ret.) of Mesa, AZ
passed away peacefully on Sept. 27th, 2008 in the loving arms of his "Steel Magnolia" wife of 35
years, Jerry. Born September 11, 1948, the son of the late Waddy and Shirley P. Dombroski of New
Windsor, NY
Gary served with honor with the 101 Airborne Division., Co. D., VietNam August, 69-August 70. No
one could have been more proud of flying with the D 101 Hawks. Gary wrote the original Maintenance
Test Flight (MTF) guide for the AH-1 Cobra while assigned as a Cobra Maintenance Test Pilot (MTP)
instructor at Ft. Eustis, VA. It was later adopted as an official Army Publication for use
throughout the Army and Cobra community. He was the first MTP rated in the AH-64 Apache and was
instrumental in the writing of the Apache MTF manual. Directly or indirectly he touched the lives
of all MTPs who flew those aircraft who followed him. He continued to serve Army Aviation after his
retirement as one of the original AH-64D Longbow training developers at McDonnell Douglas in Mesa,
AZ before he left for health reasons.
A personal tribute from a very dear friend of Gary's: "I've known Gary for more than 35 years, and
he was my mentor when I was assigned as a Cobra MTP at Ft. Eustis, VA. He taught me invaluable
lessons which I applied during my entire Army Aviation career. He was serious when warranted and
had a wonderfully dry sense of humor. Taking a check ride with Gary was never boring and always a
learning experience. He was a devoted husband to Jerry, a dear friend to me and many others, and a
servant to his country and the US Army."
CW4 John M Willingham, US Army Aviation, (Ret.)
He died of complications of diabetes, renal failure and others. His leg was amputated a few years
ago and he had been on dialysis for at least 10 years.
He is survived by his wife, Jerry of the home, and his step-daughter, Tracy Brame of Mesa, AZ. They
were by his bedside as he took his final flight. Also survived by his brother, Allen (Ann)
Dombroski of Marlboro, NY: his sister, Karen (Frank) Messina of New Windsor,NY, and several nieces
and nephews of NY.
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 08/31/2024
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