Gerald Lee Young

Warrant Officer
A BTRY, 4TH BN, 77TH ARTILLERY, 101 ABN DIV
Army of the United States
23 July 1938 - 23 October 1969
Fort Worth, Texas
Panel 17W Line 108

101 ABN DIV

77TH ARTY RGT
Army Aviator

Air Medal, National Defense, Vietnam Service, Vietnam Campaign

The database page for Gerald Lee Young

16 May 2006

REMEMBERED

by his daughter and son,
Robin Young and Kirk McMurrey



14 Jun 2007

...on May 5th, 2006 your son Kirk found me! He was born 4 months after you died. HE IS AN AWESOME MAN, HE LOOKS LIKE YOU! Somehow I always knew I had a brother out there ... and now I really do!

With love...
your daughter...
Robin



From his daughter,
Robin Young
jefayoung@sbcglobal.net

A Note from The Virtual Wall

A Battery, 4/77th Artillery, was an "Aerial Rocket Artillery" unit - actually a AH-1G Cobra unit whose primary role was providing fire support to ground troops. On 23 October 1969 the Battery had two aircraft on hot alert, ready to go if needed - and they were. At about 1445 they were directed to launch from Camp Eagle in support of a unit operating near FSB TIGER. The lead aircraft launched, followed by his wingman in AH-1G tail number 68-15109.

While enroute 68-15109 passed beneath a UH-1 Huey, whose crew chief observed a puff of smoke emerge from the Cobra's engine. Very shortly thereafter 68-15109 radioed that he was going down. The aircraft hit hard, breaking into three main pieces after impact. The tail boom first separated from the fuselage, then the main rotor blade sheared the forward cockpit from the aft fuselage, which continued moving, spewing burning fuel over the hillside before it was destroyed by exploding ordnance. Both crewmen - pilot WO Gerald L. Young and co-pilot/gunner WO Andrew J. Abramson of Lake Oswego, Oregon - were killed in the crash, which was blamed on catastrophic engine failure in flight.





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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Memorial first published on 16 May 2006
Last updated 08/10/2009