WO David Robert Kink, Middleton, WI on www.VirtualWall.org The Virtual Wall® Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall

David Robert Kink was born November 11, 1949 in Madison, Wisconsin, to Martin Kink Jr. and Marcella Ann (Sawyer) Kink. Marcella grew up in Stillwater, Minnesota during the depression. Martin was born in Germany and in 1927 at age 14, he immigrated to the U.S. on a ship with his parents.

David was their second child, their second boy, joining his older brother Paul who was then age seven. Three years later would come David's sister, Susan, and eleven years later, his sister, Julie, was born. David's father was an advertising executive. His mother was a realtor, then a church secretary. They divorced in 1966.

L to R: Paul, Julie, David, and Susan

When David was ten, his family moved to a resort near Hayward, Wisconsin where David spent two of his happiest years. He shot his first deer, learned to fish, and grew to love nature. The family moved back to Middleton, Wisconsin when David was in eighth grade. He graduated from Middleton High School in June 1967 at age 17, and got a job in a men's clothing store.

David with beer stein and LP 78 rpm record while enjoying time from work. It was taken by a friend of his, Charles Forsmo, at the Unicorn Bar in Middleton, Wisconsin in February 1968.

However he always wanted to learn to fly, and almost a year later he approached his mom and said, "Mom, guess what? I've enlisted in the Army and they have accepted me as a candidate for Flight Training." Photos below taken during Warrant Officer Candidate School and flight training.

David went through Basic Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana.

He attended flight training at Fort Wolters, Texas and then Hunter-Stewart Airbase, Savannah, Georgia, graduating from Warrant Officer Rotary Wing Aviation Course (WORWAC) in Class 69-11.

Photos taken May 20, 1969 at David's graduation from flight school at Hunter-Stewart. His mother Marcella flew down to pin his wings on. The other photo is with his friend and classmate, WO Ralph D Martin.

He took a leave at home to Middleton prior to his departure to Vietnam. "Don't worry Mom, I'll be back." were the last words she heard from her son. She said she would count the days. She counted to only 50 before David was returned (25 June 1971 article extract, Kenosha News).

Upon his arrival in Vietnam on June 18, 1969, he was assigned to the First Cavalry Division (Airmobile) with C Troop, 1st Squadron 9th Cavalry. While with C Troop, he was on his 83 mission in just three weeks according to other 1971 articles about David's loss in the local area papers.

A little more than a month later, on 21 July 1969, the light observation helicopter, OH-6A, tail number 67-16566, in which he was flying crashed due to a explosion on the ground. David was the only survivor and lived for 13 days before he died at the 106th General Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. He was 19 years old.

You can read more about the incident and other details by visiting his page at Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association .

There were two other men who died in the incident. They were:

Initial reports of his death were printed in local area papers similar to the following:

The official casualty notice from Vietnam to Department of the Army in Washington was brief. It read: "Individual died in Japan from pneumonia secondary to burns he received while an observer on a military aircraft on a combat operation when an explosion on the ground caused the aircraft to crash and burn. He was admitted to a military medical facility, evacuated to Japan, placed on the Seriously Injured (SI) list and then VSI list, and later expired."

The actual circumstances of his death were not as brief as the initial report of his injury or report of death. The article next appeared in the 7 August 1969 Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Wisconsin:

After David's death, he was awarded his medals as announced in the Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin on 13 November, 1969.

David's father, Martin Kink (1913-2003), died at age 90. He is buried in Madison, Wisconsin. David's mother, Marcella Ann (Sawyer) Kink (1921-2005), died at age 83. She is buried in Stillwater, Minnesota. They are survived by David's brother, Paul Kink, Montana; his sister, Susan Moncada, Montana; and his sister, Julie Kink, Alabama.

David is buried in Sunset Memory Gardens, Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin. His cemetery marker shows he had the basic award with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters (OLC). Criteria shows an OLC award was credited per every 25 hours of combat assault flights (any flight in which the aircraft was directly involved in combat), 50 hours of combat support flights (Visual Reconnaissance or Resupply), or 100 hours of non-combat service flights (Administrative or VIP flights). Flight hours were calculated in six-minute blocks.