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Service Details |
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Last Rank
First Lieutenant
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Last Service Branch
Army Nurse Corps
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Last Primary MOS
3443-Operating Room Nurse
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Last MOS Group
Nurse Corps (Officer)
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Primary Unit
1967-1967, 3443, 67th Evacuation Hospital
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Service Years
1966 - 1967
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Personal Details
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Home State
Michigan | |
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Year of Birth
1944 |
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This Military Service Page was created/owned by
SP 6 Gary McJimsey
to remember
Orlowski, Hedwig Diane, 1LT.
If you knew or served with this Soldier and have
additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a
message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
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Casualty Info
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Home Town
Detroit |
Last Address
Detroit, Michigan
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Casualty Date
Nov 30, 1967 |
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Cause
Non Hostile- Died while Missing |
Reason
Air Loss, Crash - Land |
Location
Binh Dinh (Vietnam) |
Conflict
Vietnam War |
Location of Interment
Mount Olivet Cemetery - Detroit, Michigan |
Wall/Plot Coordinates
31E 015 Plot Sec L Lot 545 Space 6 |
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Last Known Activity
Date of Birth April 13, 1944
Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan
Single (Never Married)
Nick names – Heddy or Harriet
Parents:
Bronislaw Orlowski worked at Chrysler at the time of Hedwig’s death.
Zuzanna Orlowski was a nurse. Died in 1997.
Brother - Jerry Orlowski
Sister – Barbara / Barb – also became a nurse (RN).
St. Florian High School
Catholic High School, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit
Graduated
Hamtramck, Michigan
[Information from her sister, Barg, as quoted in a newspaper article of the Detroit Free Press].
General H. H. Arnold High School
(U.S. Department of Defense School)
Wiesbaden, Germany
Hedwig may have only attended H.H. Arnold during her freshman year of
High School per Paul C. Burton, a fellow classmate during that period.
[Information from two fellow classmates as stated in a 2005 remembrance
messages at The Vietnam Veterans Memorial The Wall – USA for Orlowski]
Hurley Hospital School of Nursing
Flint, Michigan
Graduated 1966
Photo of Hedwig in her nurse cap is of her 1966 Nursing School Graduation Photo.
Joined the U.S. Army while attending nursing school – U.S. Army Reserve.
Hedwig worked for a short time after graduating from nursing school at
the Harper University Hospital, Detroit, Michigan; now part of the
Detroit Medical Center.
U.S. Army Active Service was about one year.
Enlisted in U.S. Army Reserve Nurse Corps October 18, 1966.
Vietnam Tour of Duty Started January 27, 1967.
Died in an U.S. Army aircraft accident along with 23 other individuals
in the Binh Dinh Province, near Qui Nhon, U.S. Military Region 2,
Republic of South Vietnam. 1LT died as a result of non-hostile
action while a passenger on a US Army C-7 Caribou fixed wing plane.
Age at death 23
From C-7A Caribou Association web site – Caribou Losses 30 November 1967, regarding aircraft C-7B Caribou:
Date: 30 November 1967
Aircraft: C-7B 62-4175
Unit: 458 TAS, 483 TAW
Base: Cam Ranh Bay
Crew:
- MAJ Thomas Dewey Moore (Died)
- MAJ William Jerome Clark (Died)
- SSG Arturo Delgado-Marin (Died)
- SSG Stanley Joseph Yurewicz (Died)
Aircraft Summary Description:
A C-7 Caribou crashed during a routine air transport flight in South
Vietnam. As the aircraft approached Qui Nhon the pilot was advised that
the weather at the airfield had fallen below safety minima. He replied
that he would proceed to Nha Trang where the weather was better but the
aircraft hit a mountain at 1,850 feet about five miles south of Qui
Nhon. The weather at the time consisted of low cloud and rain that
reduced visibility to about two miles. The four crew and 20 passengers,
including two US civilians, were killed in this accident. [Coffelt
Database of Vietnam Casualties].
Event: C-7B Caribou hit mountain about 5 miles south of Qui Nhon
city during bad weather. Missed approach to airfield. [Pilot
error].
Five US Army Medical Personnel Died in this Aircraft Accident:
- CPT Eleanor G. Alexander, 85th Evacuation Hospital
- 1LT Jerome E. Olmsted, 85th Evacuation Hospital
- SP5 Phillip A. Ogas, 85th Evacuation Hospital
- 1LT Hedwig D. Orlowski, 67th Evacuation Hospital
- 1LT Kenneth R. Shoemaker, 55th Medical Group
Unconfirmed Information From Find A Grave web site as of 05-30-2017:
She was the only female soldier from Michigan killed in the Vietnam War.
Hedwig graduated from St. Florian High School in Hamtramck, Michigan
and Hurley Hospital School of Nursing, Flint, Michigan. She was
stationed at the 67th Evacuation Hospital in Qui Nhon and was sent to a
hospital in Pleiku to help during a period of heavy casualties. She died
in a plane crash returning to Qui Nhon. She was posthumously awarded a
Bronze Star.
Find A Grave Memorial #96279508
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Comments/Citation
Congressional Record
103rd Congress (1993-1994)
November 8, 1993
United States Senate
By: Senator Donald W. Riegle, Jr., Michigan
"Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Hedwig Diane Orlowski, a
nurse from Michigan who served with the 67th Evacuation Hospital during
the Vietnam War. Twenty-six years ago this month Heddy Orlowski died
along with two of her fellow nurses when her plane attempted to land in
bad weather at Qui Nhon. She was just 23 years old.
Heddy studied at the Hurley Medical Center School of Nursing in Flint,
MI. In January of 1967, she began her tour of duty in Vietnam at Qui
Nhon. She was temporarily assigned to Pleiku to assist with the large
number of wounded there. On November 30, 1967, Heddy's plane went down
as it returned her to her post.
In observing Veteran's Day this year, [1993] I would like to pay special
tribute to this outstanding young woman for the ultimate sacrifice she
made for our country. At the age of 22, Heddy traveled to Vietnam to
provide medical attention and personal support to the young American
soldiers who were wounded in the war. During each day of the 11 months
she spent in Vietnam, she faced death with courage that few of us
possess. She gave all her strength to those who needed her help. Today,
her memory is carried on by the people she nursed back to health, as
well as her family and friends who loved her.
With the dedication of the Women's Vietnam Veterans Memorial on November
11, our Nation is paying a long-overdue tribute to the service and
sacrifice of Hedwig Orlowski and the 11,500 women who served with her in
Vietnam. This bronze statue honors all the women who served in
Vietnam--those who served with the armed forces, and the volunteers who
served with humanitarian organizations such as the USO and the Red
Cross.
Like Heddy, these women faced the horrors of the Vietnam conflict on a
daily basis. They offered support and comfort to thousands of young men
in their final moments of life and they helped save the lives of
hundreds of thousands more. The fortitude and courage that these women
displayed also helped keep many soldiers from falling into despair.
These women deserve recognition for their important service to their
country. The Women's Vietnam Veterans Memorials will help to ease the
pain that many of these women still feel. It will also remind Americans
today and in future generations of their tremendous courage and let them
know that this Nation is grateful for their service.
The women who served in Vietnam were willing to give their lives in
service to others and their country; Heddy was 1 of 8 who sacrificed
their lives to save the lives of others. The Women's Vietnam Veterans
Memorial can never completely make up for the loss of a young woman like
Heddy who was so full of life. But it will remind us of the bravery
that she displayed and the sacrifice she made. Not only will the
soldiers whom she helped always be grateful to her, but all Americans
are grateful for Hedwig Diane Orlowski's selfless service to her
country. Through this memorial, her memory lives on."
Remembrances From the web site The Vietnam Veterans Memorial The Wall – USA:
High School Classmates
From Paul C. Burton
Classmate
Heddy, was a member, of the H.H., Arnold, High School, class, of '62.
She was one, of the Angels of Mercy, who served, her country and her
fellow, service men and women. She went selflessly, into harm's way, to
help others. She will, always be remembered, as long, as this Vietnam
Veteran, is alive. Rest in Peace, Heddy. You were an angel, then and
now. We miss you! Paul C. Burton, Class, of '63. [Paul Contributed the
H.S. Photo].
2005
From Sandy Whalen
Classmate
Salute to Heddy
As a fellow classmate from Gen. H. H. Arnold High School, Wiesbaden,
Germany, I want to honor the memory of one of our own. So many
gave so much, the nurses risked their lives to help those at war.
I wish she had lived to share her life with those of us who meet
often to share the times at H H Arnold.
2005
Note:
Two different High Schools found for Hedwig Orlowski on the internet - She attended both schools.
St. Florian High School
Catholic High School, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit
Hamtramck, Michigan
[information from a sister Barb, who was quoted in a newspaper article
from the Detroit Free Press, May 26, 2013, titled Michigan nurse was one
of 8 female soldiers killed in Vietnam War.]
And,
General H. H. Arnold High School
(U.S. Department of Defense School)
Wiesbaden, Germany
[information from two fellow classmate as stated in a 2005 remembrance
messages at The Vietnam Veterans Memorial The Wall – USA for Orlowski]
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