Fri, Nov 19, 2004
17 Lost When Two UH-60s Collided
Six Army troops who died in the crash of their UH-60 in Iraq
last year were honored at Fort Campbell (KY) Monday. There, family,
friends and fellow soldiers unveiled a monument called, "Wings of
the Eagle."
"I think it helps immensely," said Lt. Col. Stephen Burns,
commander of the Army's Fourth Battalion, 101st Airborne Division.
In dedicating the memorial, he said losing soldiers is one of the
toughest experiences a unit must endure. But the four men who died
November 15th, 2003, didn't die in vain, he said. Because of them,
Iraqis "may have the chance to take a drink from the cup of
liberty," he told a crowd of about 300 people.
The $9,000 memorial was paid for with donations and
fund-raisers. After the solemn unveiling, family members were
escorted by Fourth Battalion troops as they laid a wreath of
flowers at the base of a tree planted in memory of those
fallen.
1st Lt. Jeremy L. Wolfe, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Scott A. Saboe,
Sgt. John W. Russell, Spc. Ryan T. Baker, Spc. Jeremiah J.
DiGiovanni and Spc. William D. Dusenbery were aboard a UH-60 Black
Hawk when it collided with another over the Iraqi city of Mosul.
Seventeen members of the 101st "Screaming Eagles" division were
lost in the mishap. They were headed for a few days of rest and
relaxation in Kuwait when their helos went down.
More than a year after the tragedy, details are still scarce,
many of them classified. But the Pentagon has hinted that one of
the Black Hawks was hit by groundfire and struck the rotor blades
of the second helicopter.
The other soldiers lost in the tragedy were:
- Capt. Pierre E. Piche
- Chief Warrant Officer Erik C. Kesterson
- Sgt. Michael D. Acklin II
- Sgt. Warren S. Hansen
- Spc. Eugene A. Uhl III
- Spc. Ryan T. Baker
- Spc. John R. Sullivan
- Pfc. Sheldon R. Hawk Eagle
- Pfc. Damian L. Heidelberg
- Pfc. Richard W. Hafer
- Pfc. Joey D. Whitener
More News
Runway Lead-in Light System Runway Lead-in Light System Consists of one or more series of flashing lights installed at or near ground level that provides positive visual guidance a>[...]
Aero Linx: Aviation Without Borders Aviation Without Borders uses its aviation expertise, contacts and partnerships to enable support for children and their families – at hom>[...]
Dave Juwel's Aviation Marketing Stories ITBOA BNITBOB ... what does that mean? It's not gibberish, it's a lengthy acronym for "In The Business Of Aviation ... But Not In The Busine>[...]
From 2010 (YouTube Version): Yeah.... This IS A Really Cool Job When ANN's Nathan Cremisino took over the lead of our Aero-TV teams, he knew he was in for some extra work and a lot>[...]
Also: Junkers A50 Heritage, Montaer Grows, Dynon-Advance Flight Systems, Vans' Latest Officially, the Carbon Cub UL and Rotax 916 iS is now in its 'market survey development phase'>[...]