There was a reported crash of two Black Hawk helicopters.
At first, there were no fatalities reported, but that was only because the details of the crash were not known.
Reports broke that nine service members were dead, and the nation was heartbroken.
Sad Day
It is always crushing when we lose service members.
Losing them in training accidents, however, always seems a bit more painful.
The soldiers were all members of the 101st Airborne Division.
They have been identified as Warrant Officer 1 Jeffrey Barnes, 33; Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, 36; Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo, 27; Staff Sgt. Joshua Gore, 25; Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy, 32; Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, 30; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith, 32; and Sgt. David Solinas Jr., 23.
Maj. Gen. JP McGee, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), stated, “This is a time of great sadness for the 101st Airborne Division. The loss of these Soldiers will reverberate through our formations for years to come.
“Now is the time for grieving and healing. The whole division and this community stand behind the families and friends of our fallen Soldiers.”
This was a routine training mission that the crews had probably done dozens, if not hundreds of times, but it just went wrong, and the helicopters crashed into an open field.
At this point, authorities are not sure what caused the crash.
This was the largest death toll in a training accident since we lost 11 service members in 2015 when a Black Hawk crashed off the coast of Florida.
Source: CNN
