Hans N. Gukeisen

Died: May 9, 2003

Rank: Chief Warrant Officer Two

Unit: 571st Medical Company (Air Ambulance)

Branch: U.S. Army

Chief Warrant Officer Two Hans N. Gukeisen was killed on May 9, 2003, when the UH–60A helicopter that he was flying collided with a power line across the Tigris River near Samarra, Iraq. The crew had been dispatched to evacuate a wounded civil­ian child and was maneuvering to avoid enemy ground fire. Gukeisen and the aircraft were assigned to the 571st Medical Company (Air Ambulance), home-based at Fort Carson, Colorado. They were deployed to Iraq to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. Two other crew members on board were also killed. Gukeisen was rescued from the river in critical condition, but died of his wounds. He had been in Iraq for about six weeks when the accident occurred. His body was returned to Fort Carson for a unit memorial service at Butts Army Airfield. He is buried in Sturgis, South Dakota.