The newest Save the Storks Mobile Medical Clinic will travel thousands of miles to reach women with compassionate care, practical resources, and hope in their moments of need. But this Mobile Medical Clinic will carry more than medical equipment, an ultrasound machine, and those it serves. It carries the legacy of a man who dedicated his life to saving others, and the name of an American hero.
The newest Save the Storks Mobile Medical Clinic will be named in honor of “Matthew David”, a son, a father, a brother, and a Black Hawk pilot, whose life was marked by compassion, courage, and a deep love for serving others.
“A deep thinker with a huge heart.”
When Matthew Peltzer was a child, he was serious, inquisitive, and competitive, especially with his older brother Bryan. The second of four boys, Matt stood out for his leadership, his thoughtfulness, and most importantly, his heart for others.
“He was a deep thinker with a huge heart,” says Matt’s mother, Beverly Peltzer.
As an inquisitive child at 4 years old, he asked his father why the sky was blue. After a long explanation from his dad, an oceanographer and scientist, Matt still needed more information.
Matt excelled in school. For his high school science fair project, he decided to use instruments from his dad’s lab to address the air quality problems his school building had.
Matt loved helping other people.
In high school, he served as a volunteer for the middle school robotics club, teaching younger kids about his passion. He babysat for his younger brother’s friends. Active in his church, he played the bass on his church’s worship team and attended three different youth groups.
After moving across the country during his senior year of high school, he won a leadership award for his senior class.
Whether he was mentoring younger students, serving at church, or studying in school, Matt’s heart for others stood out wherever he went.
A Champion of the Underdogs
Matt’s compassion and care for others grew with him into adulthood.
He attended Seattle Pacific University, where he studied Computer Science and Mathematics. While there, he met his wife, Heidi. The life they built together centered on faith, family, and caring for those around them. Matt and Heidi’s pro-life values led them to foster children early in their marriage before eventually welcoming two daughters of their own.
Family and fatherhood were huge to Matt.
“After the birth of his first daughter, Matt was over the moon,” says his mom, Bev. “And even more so when he and Heidi welcomed their younger daughter three years later.”
Whether he was spending time with his wife and daughters, cheering for his beloved New England Patriots, or caring for his grandparents, Matt’s loyalty ran deep.
“He was a real champion of underdogs,” says Bev.
That compassion and boldness showed up in both big and small ways. Visiting his grandparents one year for Christmas, Matt insisted that his grandmother needed a Christmas tree, even when she said she didn’t. So, he went out and got one anyway because, after all, what’s Christmas without a Christmas tree? His Nana loved it so much that she made them leave it up when they left.
Matt had a way of making the people around him feel seen, loved, and cared for.
A Life Committed to Service
Matt had a very strong sense of justice.
Though successful, his life working in a cubicle wasn’t the life he had envisioned, so, in 2005, he enlisted in the Idaho Army National Guard with the dream of becoming a helicopter pilot. After boot camp, he graduated from the Idaho Army National Guard’s Officer Candidate School. Then he spent 18 months in flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama, where he trained to become an AH-64 Apache pilot.
Matt was fearless, courageous, and a risk taker, but it was his heart to serve others that led him to choose a career in the military.
Matt eventually became a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot, learning to fly search and rescue missions. He attended various training missions across the country and trained as a medevac pilot, reaching people in urgent moments of need.
On February 2, 2021, Matt lost his life when his UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed during one of those training missions.
He left behind his wife, Heidi, their two daughters, his mother and father, three brothers, and other relatives, friends, and fellow service members who loved him deeply.
Matthew David Peltzer’s life was tragically cut short, but his story and legacy did not end there.
A Legacy that continues…
Now, Matt’s parents, Ed and Bev, are honoring their son’s memory by helping fund a Save the Storks Mobile Medical Clinic that will bear his name, “Matthew David”.
“We felt that we needed to turn around and do something for somebody else in Matt’s honor and in his name,” says his mom.
For Ed and Bev, the Mobile Medical Clinic reflects so much of who Matt was: a bold, compassionate, servant-hearted father who deeply valued life and was devoted to helping others.
Our prayer is that this Mobile Medical Clinic will carry Matt’s legacy by reaching women, families, and babies in their urgent moments of need. Through every mission, the miles traveled, the women served, and the underdogs it will champion, Matt’s legacy will continue on.
