Michael Maltz

Died: March 23, 2003

Rank: Master Sergeant

Unit: 38th Rescue Squadron

Branch: U.S. Air Force

Master Sergeant Michael Maltz, of the 38th Rescue Squadron, died on March 23, 2003, in Operation Enduring Freedom, when his HH-60 Pave Hawk Helicopter crashed in southeast Afghanistan. Maltz, along with the five others on board, was on a humanitarian mission to provide medical vacuation for two seriously injured Afghan children. Master Sergeant Maltz was memorialized with a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Matthew Roman Catholic Church in Dix Hills, New York. He was buried with full military honors, including a gun salute and a flyover by two military helicopters, at Pinelawn National Cemetery on Long Island. Maltz’s family was presented with the flag that had been draped over the fallen hero’s coffin.