More detail on this person: After a lengthly illnessRonald William Dostal died in Phoenix,
Arizona on July 11, 2004, after a lengthy illness. He was 61 years old. Ron, as he was known
to his buddies, attended Hinsdale High School in Hinsdale, Illinois. He was commissioned from OCS
in Field Artillery at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma and graduated from Army flight school in Class 66-22,
receiving his flight wings in January, 1967. He and two of his classmates, Jim Higgins and Ed
Busic, were assigned to Troop A, 3/17 Air Cavalry, which was forming at Ft. Knox and which shipped
out to Vietnam in October of 1967. All three were members of the original troop, and all three
became scout pilots in the new OH-6A helicopters. Dostal saw much action in Vietnam with this
unit, to include the TET Offensive of 1968. Among other awards, he received a Distinguished Flying
Cross and multiple Air Medals. Also serving with him in the same troop as crew chiefs were two of
his younger brothers, Jim Dostal of Savannah, Georgia and John Dostal of Richmond, Virginia, who
now survive Ron. Also surviving is a daughter, Julie Buturla, of Englewood, Florida. This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site:
01/11/2025
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From: "Chuck Oualline"