Dennis Dean Nielsen is a retired

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Colonel who is most widely known for having participated in rescue effort of the

United Airlines Flight 232 United Airlines Flight 232 was a regularly scheduled United Airlines flight from Stapleton International Airport in Denver to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, continuing to Philadelphia International Airport. On July 19, 1989, the DC ...

crash in

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

in 1989. Born in

Shelby, Iowa Shelby is a city in Pottawattamie and Shelby counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 727 at the time of the 2020 census. History Shelby got its start in the late 1860s, following construction of the railroad through the territor ...

on February 5, 1947,Newsobserver.com, Under the Dome: Dennis Nielsen
Linked 2014-09-05 he has lived in the small town of

Middlesex, North Carolina Middlesex is a town in Nash County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina Rocky Mount metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Middlesex is about 25 miles east of Raleigh, North Carolina. The populati ...

since he retired from the

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

in 2002.

United Airlines Flight 232

On July 19, 1989,

made an emergency crash-landing in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

, killing 112 people on board, 44 minutes after suffering a catastrophic failure of its tail-mounted engine, which led to the loss of many flight controls. Dennis Nielsen had been serving with the

since 1967 and the Iowa Air National Guard since 1972. He was one of 285 airmen of the Air National Guard who was on duty at Sioux Gateway Airport when the crash occurred, and he was well known for carrying

Spencer Bailey Spencer Bailey (born August 18, 1985) is an American writer, editor, and journalist. He has written at length about architecture, art, culture, and design, among other subjects. Early life Bailey was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. United ...

, a baby on board the flight, to safety.

Political career

After his military retirement, he has attempted to be elected to various offices in North Carolina. In 2004, he ran as a Republican against Democratic state senator

A. B. Swindell Albin Blount Swindell IV (born October 14, 1945) is an American politician who was a Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's eleventh Senate district, including constituents in Nash and Wilson counties. ...

; in 2006, he ran unsuccessfully in the primary for state House of Representatives; and in the 2008 primary elections, he attempted to become the Democratic candidate for

Governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The governor directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander in chief of the military forces of the state. The current governor, ...

, opposing the sitting

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Beverly Perdue Beverly Eaves Perdue (born Beverly Marlene Moore; January 14, 1947) is an American businesswoman, politician, and member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party who served as the List of governors of North Carolina, 73rd Govern ...

and the

State Treasurer In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...

Richard H. Moore Richard Hancock Moore (born Oxford, Granville County, North Carolina, August 30, 1960) was the North Carolina State Treasurer from 2001–2009. He was first elected to that post in 2000 and re-elected in 2004. Career Moore earned both his under ...

. In the elections, Nielsen came last, receiving 60,000 of the 1.3 million votes cast. Beverly Perdue eventually became the new governor, narrowly beating Republican

Pat McCrory Patrick Lloyd McCrory (born October 17, 1956) is an American businessman, politician and radio host who served as the 74th governor of North Carolina from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 53rd Mayor o ...

(who became governor after Perdue in 2013).

Campaign platform

In his 2008 campaign, Nielsen advocated the elimination of property tax for those over 65 years of age with an annual adjusted gross income of less than $40,000; he wanted to give tax credits to parents who home-schooled or sent their children to private schools; he proposed the creation of citizen groups that inspected state government activities on behalf of the governor; he wanted much more liberal gun laws in North Carolina; he wanted to remove vehicle inspections in North Carolina; and he promised to prosecute any employer who hired illegal immigrants, didn't submit income taxes and social security from their employees, and possibly also those who didn't pay their employees minimum wage.

References

External links

Dennis Nielsen's Blog with the Wilmington Star NewsNews & Observer profile pageAir Force Aviation Heritage Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Dennis 1947 births Living people North Carolina Democrats North Carolina Republicans United States Air Force officers Candidates in the 2004 United States elections Candidates in the 2006 United States elections Candidates in the 2008 United States elections 21st-century American politicians People from Shelby County, Iowa People from Nashville, North Carolina Military personnel from Iowa

United Airlines Flight 232

Political career

Campaign platform

See also

References

External links