US Army Ranger Killed in Combat

FORT BRAGG, NC — A U.S. Army Ranger was killed in action Sept. 24, during combat operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. Tyler Nicholas Holtz, 22, was assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at Joint Base Lewis McChord, Wash.

Holtz was killed by direct fire from enemy forces during a heavy firefight while conducting combat operations in Wardak Province, Afghanistan.

A native of Dana Point, Calif., he enlisted in the U.S. Army in October 2007. For more than three years, Holtz served as a rifleman and a Ranger Team Leader with 2nd Bn., 75th Ranger Regiment.

“Sgt. Tyler Holtz was a courageous and incredibly talented Ranger who died while leading his men against determined insurgents,” said Lt. Col. David Hodne, commander of 2nd Bn., 75th Ranger Regiment.  “Tyler Holtz personified the Ranger Creed to the final moments of his life and his actions inspire us to do the same.  We will honor his memory and mourn his loss.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the Holtz family.”

This was his fourth deployment to Afghanistan.

“Sgt. Holtz had the stuff from which legends are made and possessed the character which makes up the foundations that our Army and nation are built on,” said Col. Mark W. Odom, commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment.

Holtz is survived by his father Andrew Holtz of Capistrano Beach, Calif., his mother Karen Holtz, and his three brothers Luke, Hayden, and Michael, all of Dana Point, Calif.