Paul A. Bloomquist (30 October 1932 – 11 May 1972) was an American pilot and

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, who was the first American killed by the

Red Army Faction The Red Army Faction (RAF, ; , ),See the section " Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (, , active 1970–1998), was a West German far-left Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group founded in 1970. The ...

. A veteran of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

stationed in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, Bloomquist died in a

bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

attack at the

IG Farben Building The IG Farben Building – also known as the Poelzig Building and the Abrams Building, formerly informally called The Pentagon of Europe – is a building complex in Frankfurt, Germany, which currently serves as the main structure of the West ...

on 11 May 1972.

Biography

Paul A. Bloomquist was born on October 30, 1932, in Utah, United States. He served extensively with the

during the

, from 1964 to 1965 with the

57th Medical Detachment The 57th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) was a US Army unit located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, which provided aeromedical evacuation support to the Fort Bragg community, while training in its combat support mission. The first helic ...

(Helicopter Ambulance), and from 1968 to 1969 in the 498th Medical Company (Air Ambulance). Bloomquist received the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

three times, the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

37 times, the Distinguished Flying Cross four times, and was the 1964 "Army Aviator of the Year". After his time in Vietnam, he was appointed commander of a

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

stationed in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...

, and by 1971 was a major serving as the commanding officer of the 45th Medical Battalion 3d Armored Division based in

Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its station is a major railway junction and it has a port on the rive ...

. Later that year he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and was on assignment to the

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...

working on a drug rehabilitation program for troops.

Death

On 11 May 1972, Bloomquist was killed by a

attack on the headquarters of the V Corps in the

in Frankfurt. The attack was committed by the

, a West German

far-left Far-left politics, also known as the radical left or the extreme left, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single definition. Some scholars consider ...

militant organization that targeted US military facilities and personnel in West Germany. The bombing was one of the Red Army Faction's first attacks, and was one of a series of bombings as part of the "May Offensive", and operation in retaliation for the United States' re-escalation of the Vietnam War.

Posthumous awards

Bloomquist was inducted into the DUSTOFF Association Hall of Fame, which honors Army Medical personnel engaged in Army aeromedical evacuation programs. The Dustoff Hall of Fame states the following: "LTC Paul A. Bloomquist exemplified the DUSTOFF spirit throughout his career. Spending nearly 35 months in Vietnam, he earned 4 awards of the Distinguished Flying Cross, 37 Air Medals, and 3 Purple Hearts. One DFC citation reports that even though he was wounded himself, he continued flying for nearly 13 hours during which time he rescued many casualties under heavy enemy fire. He was selected "Army Aviator of the Year" in 1964 and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce honored him as an "Outstanding Young American." Following a battalion command in Germany, his life was cut short when a terrorist group exploded several bombs at the V Corps Headquarters in Frankfurt. In recognition of his service, the US Army installation at Ziegenberg, Germany, home of the 68th Medical Group, was renamed "Camp Paul Bloomquist." Paul Bloomquist was inducted into the DUSTOFF Hall of Fame on 22 February 2003." Bloomquist was also inducted into the Utah Aviation Hall of Fame, which is located at the

Hill Aerospace Museum Hill Aerospace Museum is a military aviation museum located at Hill Air Force Base in Roy, Utah. It is dedicated to the history of the base and aviation in Utah. History Preparations for a museum began in 1984, when ground was broken on an "Ae ...

Hill AFB Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in northern Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adjacent ...

, in 2010. The Kasserne of the 68th Medical Group was named Camp Paul Bloomquist in his honor.Keays, Ann. "Unit in Germany honors medevac hero killed by terrorist bomb," Stars and Stripes Europe, 18 June 1980, p. 2.

Popular culture

The song "Terror Couple Kill Colonel" by

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 2 ...

subtly mentions the murder of Paul Bloomquist.

References

''The Gamest Bastards of All'', TIME 2. July 1965
*
Dustoff Organization Hall of Fame
'
Army Aviation Association Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloomquist, Paul A. United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War 1932 births 1972 deaths United States Army colonels American Senior Army Aviators Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) American terrorism victims Victims of the Red Army Faction