Helicopter Crash Victims Buried Together in Arlington Cemetery

Photo By Staff Sgt. Mary Flynn | Army honor guard soldiers hold 12 folded American flags during an interment ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Oct. 12 for 12 soldiers killed in Iraq 10 months ago. The soldiers, 10 from the Army National Guard and two from the active duty Army, were killed northeast of Baghdad when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was shot down.  

ARLINGTON, VA, UNITED STATES

10.15.2007

Story by Sgt. Mary Flynn 

Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs           

By Sgt. Mary Flynn, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service

ARLINGTON, Va. - Hundreds of soldiers, family members and friends gathered at Arlington National Cemetery, Oct. 12, to honor 12 soldiers killed in a helicopter crash Iraq earlier this year.

The soldiers, 10 from the Army National Guard and two from the active Army, were killed northeast of Baghdad, on Jan. 20, when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was shot down. Their combat deaths were the highest number of National Guard fatalities in a single incident since 2001.

They were Army Guard soldiers: Col. Paul M. Kelly, of Virginia; Lt. Col. David C. Canegata III, of the Virgin Islands; Capt. Michael V. Taylor, of Arkansas; Capt. Sean E. Lyerly, of Texas; Command Sgt. Maj. Marilyn L. Gabbard, of Iowa; Command Sgt. Maj. Roger W. Haller, of Maryland; 1st Sgt. William T. Warren, of Arkansas; Sgt. 1st Class Floyd E. Lake Sr., of the Virgin Islands; Sgt. 1st Class John G. Brown, of Arkansas; and Staff Sgt. Darryl D. Booker, of Virginia. The active-duty Army soldiers killed were Col. Brian D. Allgood, of Oklahoma, and Cpl. Victor M. Langarica, of Georgia.

Mourners gathered in a grassy area at the cemetery near a hillside, where other group interments have been held. Honors included a casket team, a firing party and a bugler who played "Taps." A single casket contained remains of the 12 soldiers, but there were separate flags for each deceased soldier.

Honor guard members ceremoniously touched each flag to the casket before presenting them to the members of the 12 families.

Service leaders including Army Secretary Pete Geren, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard A. Cody, Lt. Gen. Clyde Vaughn, director of the Army National Guard, and several state adjutants general stood silently near the families during the ceremony.

"I think it was the right thing to do," Vaughn said. The country owes it to the families to inter these soldiers at Arlington, to let them know that the whole nation is behind them, he said.

Vaughn held a reception for the 12 families at the Army National Guard Readiness Center following the ceremony.

"There is a healing piece that goes with this," he said. "(There's a) helpful healing between people who have the exact same issue, (who can) wrap their arms around and look at someone who's going through precisely the same thing."

• Date Taken: 10.15.2007
• Date Posted: 10.15.2007 08:13
• Story ID: 12975
• Location: ARLINGTON, VA, US