Dennis P. Hay
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Age: 32
From: Valdosta, Ga.
Assigned to the 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.
Incident: Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Dennis P. Hay was killed Aug. 29 when his OH-58D Kiowa helicopter came under attack by enemy forces using small-arms fire in Tal Afar, Iraq.
Died: August 29, 2005
Fort Carson pilot’s last selfless act saves co-pilot
By Tom Roeder
Associated Press / The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Chief Warrant Officer Dennis Hay always cranked down the knob that increased tension on the helicopter controls.
It made the OH-58 heavier to fly, an upper-body workout for pilots pulling against the spring tension. His co-pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Gabriel Torney, complained about the arm-straining adjustment. But Hay, nicknamed “Shooter,” always said that extra tension would buy precious seconds in an emergency.
That’s exactly what happened, Torney said Wednesday. His voice quaked at times as he spoke at a memorial service for Hay and three other soldiers from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.
“He did this every time he flew and that selfless act is why I’m here today,” Torney said inside Soldiers’ Memorial Chapel at Fort Carson.
It was just after sunset on...