Marshall Myron Holt Jr

Marshall Myron Holt Jr. was raised in Des Moines and graduated from Roosevelt High School in the class of 1951. He went on to attend and graduate from the University of Iowa in 1956. After finishing his education Holt joined the Air Force and trained to be a pilot. CAPT Holt was sent to Vietnam in January 1966. His squadron was attached to the Army’s 1st Air Cavalry Division. CAPT Holt piloted an O-1 observation plane. He conducted forward air controller missions, which would mark targets with smoke for assault aircraft. These missions required a slow and low approach to potential targets and left the O-1’s vulnerable to enemy fire. On March 2, 1966 his plane was shot down by enemy forces. CAPT Holt and his co-pilot from Utah were both killed in the crash. His body was recovered and returned to Iowa where it was buried at the Oak Grove Cemetery in Polk County. Holt left behind a wife, a young son, and an unborn child. He was 32 years old at the time of his death.