ARLINGTON, Va. - Ten Army National Guard Soldiers, including a grandmother who was a senior noncommissioned officer and two men who were nicknamed "the Senator" and "Big Daddy," were among the 12 U.S. Soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq on Saturday, Jan. 20. They died during one of the deadliest weekends for U.S. forces engaged in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
It was the highest number of National Guard fatalities in a single combat incident during the five-year Global War on Terrorism. It was also the highest number killed in a single combat incident in more than 50 years, since at least the Korean War in 1950-53, National Guard Bureau officials said.
It was not, however, the National Guard’s single worst tragedy in recent memory. Twenty-one Air and Army Guard members were killed when their airplane crashed in Georgia on March 3, 2001.
The Jan. 20 casualties included three members of a liaison team from the National Guard Bureau. The 10 came from five states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. One of them, Col. Paul Kelly, 45, from Virginia, was the highest ranking National Guard member to be killed in a combat theater during the war against terrorism.
"I am deeply saddened by the loss of these outstanding National Guard Soldiers and warriors. I cherish their service, honor their sacrifice, and mourn with their families," said LTG H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau.
"These National Guard Soldiers were bearers of the torch of freedom carried from one generation of Americans to the next since 1636. We will remember them in honor and in gratitude," Blum added.
Command Sgt. Maj. Roger Haller, 49, from Maryland and Sgt. 1st Class Floyd Lake, 43, from the Virgin Islands were the two other members of the NGB liaison officer team killed in the afternoon crash that occurred in the vicinity of Al Jadidah, northeast of Baghdad.
Six other Guard casualties listed by the Defense Department were Lt. Col. David Canegata III, 50, from the Virgin Islands; Maj. Michael Taylor, 40, 1st Sgt. William Warren, 48, and Sgt. 1st Class John Brown, 43, from Arkansas; Capt. Sean Lyerly, 31, from Texas; and Staff Sgt. Darryl Booker, 37, from Virginia.
The woman was Command Sgt. Maj. Marilyn Gabbard, 46, of Iowa, who was also the national secretary for the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States and the Iowa Guard’s first female command sergeant major. She and her husband Edward, a retired sergeant major, had seven children and 11 grandchildren, the Iowa National Guard reported.
Two active Army Soldiers, Col. Brian Allgood, 46, and Cpl. Victor Langarica, 29, were killed in the crash. Allgood, from Oklahoma, was assigned to the 30th Medical Brigade in Heidelberg, Germany. Langarica, from Georgia, was assigned to the 86th Signal Battalion at Fort Huachuca, Ariz.
Governors, Guard leaders and other officials paid tribute to the Guard Soldiers who were called "Fallen Angels."
"CSM Gabbard will be remembered as a very patriotic Soldier who was dedicated, compassionate and professional in all that she pursued," stated A. Frank Lever, the enlisted association’s president.
"Col. Kelly and Staff Sgt. Booker understood the dangers facing our nation and were fully prepared to do whatever was necessary to protect this country and commonwealth," said Maj. Gen. Robert Newman Jr., adjutant general for the Virginia National Guard.
The Washington Post reported that Kelly was nicknamed "the Senator" because he was always shaking hands with Soldiers; and that Booker, who stood about 6-foot-5, was known in his unit as "Big Daddy."
"This tragedy underscores the debt of gratitude we owe our men and women in uniform and, in particular, their families," said Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley in his comments about Haller.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation on Jan. 24. The Soldiers were flying in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from the Alabama Army Guard assigned to the 36th Combat Aviation Brigade with the Texas Army Guard. It was conducting a routine transit mission and flying in a formation when the crash occurred, Guard Bureau officials reported.
Taylor, Lyerly and Brown were crewmembers on the helicopter.
A quick reaction force arrived at the crash site within an hour of the crash, secured the area and reported no survivors.
It was the highest number of Guard casualties in a single incident during the war on terrorism. Seven Guard Soldiers were killed Jan. 6, 2005, when a roadside bomb destroyed their Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Those Soldiers were assigned to the Louisiana Army National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade.
The National Guard had suffered 436 casualties during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, in Afghanistan, as of Jan. 19, the Guard Bureau stated. Seven more Guard personnel died during the 9/11 terrorist attacks and while serving in the United States during Operation Noble Eagle, the domestic part of the Global War on Terrorism.
The three members of the liaison officer (LNO) team were conducting a liaison mission with National Guard Affairs, Multi-National Corps – Iraq.
National Guard liaison officers serve in Afghanistan and Iraq and are assigned to Operation Jump Start, the Guard’s support program for the U.S. Border Patrol along this country’s border with Mexico, among other places and operations.
Team members tell ground component commanders how the National Guard Bureau can support the war fight, and they tell the National Guard Bureau and the director of the Army National Guard, Lt. Gen. Clyde Vaughn, about anticipated requirements.
Liaison officers also inform the Army Guard director about the needs, welfare, equipment issues, and morale of Citizen-Soldiers.
The position dates back at least to Alexander the Great, who used junior officers to serve as couriers between him and widely dispersed columns. Caesar, Napoleon and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had positions similar to LNOs on their staffs, and Winston Churchill credited Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery’s use of LNOs during World War II as being invaluable to allied success.
Casualty assistance teams have been designated to assist the families of the deceased Soldiers. Family Readiness Group members and teams of chaplains are also providing support for the families and co-workers.
Sgt. Jim Greenhill contributed to this report.