Richard P. Carl

Died: May 9, 2003

Rank: Sergeant

Unit: 571st Medical Company (Air Ambulance)

Branch: U.S. Army

Sergeant Richard P. Carl was killed on May 9, 2003, when the UH-60A helicopter on which he was flying as crew chief collided with a power line over the Tigris River, near Samarra, Iraq, during the rescue of a wounded Iraqi child. The crew was ma­neuvering to avoid enemy ground fire when the helicopter struck the wires. Carl and the aircraft were assigned to the 571st Medical Company, an air ambulance unit out of Fort Carson, Colorado. They were deployed to Iraq to support Operation Iraqi Free­dom. Two pilots onboard were also killed, and a medic was rescued from the river in critical condition. Carl was buried in the Glenn Rest Cemetery, Glenns Ferry, Idaho.