The Army has identified the four soldiers who were killed in a helicopter crash near a Washington state base last Wednesday.
The deceased soldiers are chief warrant officers Andrew Cully, 35, and Andrew Kraus, 39, and sergeants Donavon Scott, 24, and Jadalyn Good, 23, Army Special Operations Command (Usasoc) said in a release. The four, assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), died after their MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Thurston County, Wash., near Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
In the release, Col. Stephen Smith, commander of the 160th regiment, called the four soldiers “exceptional warriors” who “embodied the unwavering dedication, selflessness, and excellence that define the very spirit of the Army and Army Special Operations.”
Cully, from Sparta, Mo., joined the Army in 2013. Kraus, a native of Sanibel, Fla., served in the Marines from 2008 to 2013 and joined the Army in 2017. The enlistment year of Scott, a native of Tacoma, Wash., was not noted. Good, from Mount Vernon, Wash., enlisted in the Army in 2021.
The crash occurred during a routine flight training at around 9 p.m. PDT, according to Usasoc. The cause is still under investigation. According to the National Weather Service, the skies in Thurston County were mostly clear around the time of the crash, with slight winds from the south and southwest.
Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders posted a video on Facebook on Monday of a procession he and his fellow deputies provided for the fallen soldiers last week. Sanders noted that personnel from the sheriff’s office “escorted military personnel to a nearby field, where fellow soldiers from the 160th flew their teammates back to JBLM one last time.”
In November 2023, five members of the 160th regiment based at Fort Campbell in Kentucky died when their UH-60 helicopter crashed during an air refueling training mission in the Eastern Mediterranean. In March 2024, two SOAR unit soldiers were injured at Joint Base Lewis-McChord when their Apache helicopter crashed.
The 160th regiment’s mission “is to organize, equip, train, resource and employ Army special operations aviation forces worldwide in support of contingency missions and combatant commanders,” according to the Army’s website. The regiment, known as Night Stalkers, has been in operation since October 2001.
“Their sacrifice in service to our nation will forever be etched in our hearts and in the legacy of the Night Stalkers,” the Usasoc release added of the four deceased. “These heroes were not only elite professionals but also cherished teammates, friends, and family members whose absence leaves an immeasurable void.”
Source: The Hill - News
