Louis Turchi

Turchi had two great ambitions, his parents recalled: To own a shiny blue 1965 Chevy and to complete his training as a dental technician so that he could own a dental laboratory. The young man fulfilled his first dream, but was mortally wounded in Vietnam before he could live the second. Turchi graduated from Bishop Neumann High School. Where he was a right guard on the varsity football team. A teacher recalled he and two friends with whom he was drafted in August 1965 as "normal, red-blooded American kids." Turchi volunteered for service in Vietnam, where he was a helicopter crewman with the 118th Assault Helicopter Company. He was awarded the Silver Star. Turchi was severely wounded and was evacuated to Yokohama, Japan, where he died on Oct. 14, 1966. The 22year-old specialist four was survived by his parents, a brother and two sisters. A recreation building at the Army Flight School at Fort Rucker, Ala., is dedicated in his memory.