"He fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a Marine helicopter pilot, protecting his family and serving his country"
Honor & Remember Our American Hero Captain Kyle R. Van De Giesen USMC
Hometown: North Attleborough, Massachusetts

Kyle Van De Giesen Kyle had been a star quarterback on the North Attleborough High School football team. Kyle went to Saint Anselm College.A senior in college on Sept. 11, 2001, he called his mother, distraught, as he watched the terrorist attacks. “Why can’t anyone do something to stop this?’’ he asked her. He was already headed for a military career, but the events of 9/11 gave him more motivation. He received his bachelor of arts degree in criminal justice. After completing Officer's Candidate School in Quantico, Va., in the summers of 1999 and 2000, Kyle was commissioned as a second lieutenant, USMC in 2002. Upon completion of the Officer Basic Course in Quantico and Flight School in Pensacola, Fla., Kyle graduated in 2004 with his Aviator wings and assignment to train as an AH-1W Super Cobra pilot. He was assigned to HMLA-169 at Camp Pendleton in California. He excelled in flight school and got his first pick: to fly Cobra helicopters on the West Coast. To prepare for deployment, he would fly day and night, in all kinds of weather. His favorite route was up the coast over the water where he could spot sharks. The military life, with its structure and discipline, suited him. He liked precision; his DVDs were in alphabetical order, his closet pristine. Capt. Kyle R. Van De Giesen, 29, assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Oct. 26, 2009 in a collision between a UH-1 and an AH-1 helicopter in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Also killed were Cpl. Gregory M.W. Fleury, Capt. Eric A. Jones and Capt. David S. Mitchell. Fallen But Never Forgotten Capt. Kyle Van De Giesen Always Remember "Semper Fidelis"

Hero Stars, Organization