FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Two 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, pilots died following a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan, June 6.
Capt. Scott Pace, 33, of Brawley, Calif., and 1st Lt. Mathew Fazzari, 25, of College Place, Wash., originally of Walla Walla, Wash., died of injuries caused when their OH-58D Kiowa helicopter was engaged by enemy forces in Ghazni province, Afghanistan.
Pace graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., with a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering in 2005. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in the U.S. Army on May 28, 2005. Pace then attended flight training at Fort Rucker, Ala., where he earned qualification as an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior pilot on Oct. 4, 2006. He then held a variety of positions with the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Drum, N.Y., before moving to the 82nd CAB in October, 2010.
This was Pace’s third deployment, although both previous deployments were to Iraq.
His awards and decorations include two Purple Hearts, an Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, two Iraq Campaign Medals, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, three Overseas Service Ribbons, the Army Aviator Badge and the Combat Action Badge.
Fazzari graduated from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics in 2010. He was commissioned in the U.S. Army as a 2nd Lt. on Oct. 4, 2010, and earned qualification as an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior pilot at Fort Rucker, Ala., on April 6, 2012. He arrived at Fort Bragg in May, and was immediately deployed to Afghanistan. This was his first deployment.
His awards and decorations include one Purple Heart, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, the Air Assault Badge, the Army Aviator Badge, and a Combat Action Badge.
He is survived by his wife, Tovah, and his two children, Dominic and Samuel.