LT DANIEL R. HERTZFELDT, USN

Class 1962

Born March 10, 1939

Died March 12, 1968

Age 29

Hometown La Crosse, Wisconsin

Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1962 Lucky Bag:

Daniel Richard Hertzfeldt

Dan came to the Naval Academy after one year at La Crosse State Teachers College. As a plebe he played lacrosse, a game which he claimed originated in his home town. Although he had never played before, he led the team in scoring. Deciding that a varsity sport took too much time, he directed his natural athletic ability to intramural sports such as company soccer and basketball. Dan’s major interest while at the Academy was to graduate, a goal he achieved with a minimum of study. Naturally Dan plans to enter Naval Aviation upon graduation and will undoubtedly be one of the Navy’s finest.

He was also a member of the 20th Company staff (winter).

Loss

Daniel was lost on March 12, 1968 when his TS-95 Cougar plane crashed near the Patuxent River in Maryland. He was returning to to Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, from Andrews Air Force Base when he crashed shortly after takeoff.

Other Information

From the June 1968 issue of Shipmate:

Lt. Hertzfeldt was born in Wisconsin, and attended La Crosse State University one year before entering the Naval Academy, where he played lacrosse. He was graduated in 1962. He was a veteran of the Vietnam War, having flown 115 combat missions in the F4B Phantom II from the aircraft carrier INDEPENDENCE in 1965. He reported to Training Squadron 23 on 16 March 1967 and was serving as a flight instructor. He was awarded the Air Medal while serving with Fighter Squadron 41 aboard the INDEPENDENCE, and had been awarded his eighth Gold Star in lieu of a similar medal.

He also held the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Navy Commendation Medal, the National Defense and Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

Surviving are his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Eldon Carl Hertzfeldt of 210 South 24th St., La Crosse, Wis.; two brothers, Lt. Donald Hertzfeldt, USA, of Colorado Springs, and David Hertzfeldt of Denver, Colo.; his paternal grandmother, Mrs. Carl Hertzfeldt of Alma, Wis.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

In December, 1956, Daniel was one of four Wisconsin men to undergo tests at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska for admission to the Air Force Academy. He was nominated for the testing by Rep. Gardner R. Withrow.

In November, 14, 1957, Daniel was given an award for the newest pilot by the La Crosse Flyers Club.

Daniel graduated from Central High School in 1957. B-General - - Football 1; Track 2. Plans to enter aviation field after college - - Worked on pilot boat during summer of 1956.

He attended the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse for one year and then received his nomination to the Naval Academy by Rep. Withrow.

In the summer of 1959, he was aboard the Warrington for the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

After graduation he attended pre-flight school in Pensacola and then jet flight training in Meridian, Mississippi. Here, he flew the North American T2J-1 “Buckeye.”

His next training was in August, 1963, in Beeville, Texas, and then on to the USS Lexington for carrier qualification. In November, he received training on the Grumman F11F jet.

In October, 1964, he participated in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization naval training operation in the North Atlantic. Other countries represented were Belgium, Denmark, France, Norway, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

In November he was serving with Navy Fighter Squadron 41 at the Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He then trained on an F4B in Key West, Florida. In 1965 he was on the aircraft carrier USS Independence.

In March, 1967, Daniel became an instructor pilot with Training Squadron (VT-21) at the Naval Auxiliary Air Station in Kingsville.

When he returned from a Vietnam combat deployment, he was profiled in the local La Crosse Tribune (Wisconsin) on December 26, 1965:

“One of the biggest lessons learned, said Hertzfeldt, was the use of the F4B – a fighter-bomber – against ground targets." When he entered the squadron, he said, the concept mostly was use of the fighter against potential enemy aircraft and against seaborne targets.

But now, he continued, crews have become more proficient in releasing “conventional ordnance” against ground installations. The craft has air-to-air missiles. When it takes off, the 58-foot long plane with its arsenal weighs about 25 tons.

When it returns, usually in a cycle of two hours, the total gross weight is about 17 tons.

Daniel is buried in Wisconsin.