Reinhard, Kenneth Oscar

Kenneth Oscar Reinhard, Major, USAF (Fallen)
September 22, 1943 – August 14, 1987

Maj. Kenneth O. Reinhard of Cibolo died Friday, Aug. 14, in North Carolina at the age of 43.

Reinhard was killed in the crash of an Air Force helicopter near Fayetteville, NC. Friday afternoon.

Funeral services are scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, at St. John’s Lutheran Church with the Rev. James Witschorke officiating. Interment will follow at Lone Oak Cemetery at Geronimo with full military honors under the direction of Goetz Funeral Home.

Honorary pallbearers will include classmates of Samuel Clemens Hight School and members of Southwest Texas State University Alpha Psi Lambda fraternity.

Survivors include his wife, Dianna Reinhard of Cibolo; two sons, James R. Reinhard of Pennsylvania and Keith Reinhard of Cibolo; two daughters, Karen Reinhard of Cibolo and Heather Reinhard of Cibolo; his parents, Theo and Margie Reinhard of Cibolo; a brother, Ralph Reinhard of San Angelo and a granddaughter, Brynn Reinhard of San Antonio.

Memorials my be given to St. John’s Lutheran Church or to the charity of one’s choice.

Published in The Seguin Gazette-Enterprise, 19 Aug 1987, Wed., Page 2 (Seguin, Texas)

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UH-60A #81-23647
Pope AFB, NC.
14 August 1987

A UH-60A #81-23647 Black Hawk helicopter (Call sign “Hawk 47”) assigned to the 55th ARRS at Eglin AFB, FL., crashed near Pope AFB, NC. Aug. 14, killing its four crew members.

Dead are: Capt. Ralph Gehringer, 26 from Tacoma, WA., aircraft commander; Capt. Jeffrey Stevens, 26, Billings, MT., instructor pilot, and SrA. Jeff Beseke, 21, Alexandria, MN., flight engineer. All were assigned to the 55th ARRS.

The fourth crew member was Maj. Kenneth Reinhard, 42, from Cibolo, TX., a helicopter pilot and an air operations officer from Detachment 2, 23rd Air Force at Fort Bragg, NC. Maj. Reinhard was being given his ‘fini’ flight as he had retired from active duty that day.

The UH-60 helicopter and its three Eglin crew members had been at Pope since Aug. 11 for training. The helicopter departed Pope Aug. 14 at 3:30 p.m. EDT on a training mission to Andrews AFB, MD.

The helicopter crashed in a heavily wooded area on Fort Bragg, about four miles north of Pope AFB. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Air Force has nine other UH-60A Black Hawks assigned to the 39th ARRWg at Eglin AFB. The helicopters, in standard Army configuration, are used for search and rescue operations.

The UH-60 can carry a crew of three and up to 14 passengers and six litters or internal or external cargo.

~Source~
http://www.afspacemuseum.org/library/1987/08-21-87.pdf

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