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Sunday, July 27, 2008 --- 71 days ago http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/x2050107742/First-Person-by-Rob-Simmons-Five
 Five years ago, my wife, Heidi, and I traveled to Vietnam in search of a fallen American soldier from Waterford named “Arnie” Holm, “Dusty” to his friends. Army Capt. Arnold E. Holm Jr. and his helicopter had been shot down June 11, 1972, over the dense jungle of Thua Thien Province. Holm was a charismatic and popular student at Waterford High School, where he captained three sports before joining the Army as a private in 1962. He and his wife, Margarete, were married before Holm received orders to go on his first tour in Vietnam in 1969. After receiving a direct commission and helicopter pilot training, he received orders for Vietnam again. His assignment was to fly Light Observation Helicopters, or “Loaches,” with a crew of two. Shortly before his second tour was up, Holm volunteered to fly in support of South Vietnamese forces operating west of Vietnam’s ancient capital, Hue, over rough mountainous jungle near the Laotian border. On that fateful day, his two crew members were Pfc. Wayne Bibbs and Spc. 4 Robin Yeakley. During a second pass over a suspected enemy stronghold, Holm’s aircraft came under heavy ground fire, burst into flames and crashed into a mountainside. Witnesses reported there were no survivors. For 35 years, Holm’s widow and family hoped he would return. But it was not until 2002 that pressure from his family, friends and Waterford High School students, led by civics teacher Brett Arnold, focused federal attent ... |
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