Kurt Benz

Corporal, United States Marines

December 26, 1968 – February 3, 1991
Age – 22
Dearborn Heights, MI

Operation Desert Storm, Persian Gulf
Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369 MCAS El Toro, CA

Killed when his USMC UH1 Huey crashed into the Indian Ocean during combat operations

Cpl Kurt “Mercedes” Benz died on February 3, 1991 when his Huey crashed into the Indian Ocean during the Gulf WarOne of four members of a USMC UH1 Huey killed in action. The other men killed were David Herr, James Thorp and Albert Haddad.

LT Colandreo Jr. remembered the crash –

Tragedy struck February 3rd when one of our UH-1Ns in a flight of two crashed. The pilots had gotten spatial disorientation and flown into the ground as the wingman in the section. The XO informed us that night that our squadron brothers, Capt Jim “Injun“ Thorpe, Capt David “Super Dave” Herr, Cpl Al “Big Al” Haddad, and Cpl Kurt “Mercedes” Benz were dead. The shock and sadness were more than I had known up to that point in my life. They were fantastic Marines and pilots/crew.