Photo By Michael Strasser | The Black Hawk Training Crash Memorial outside 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment...... read more read more
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Aug. 28, 2025) -- The U.S. was two years into the war in Afghanistan and about to begin Operation Iraqi Freedom when tragedy struck the Fort Drum and 10th Mountain Division (LI) community close at home.
On March 11, 2003, Soldiers with 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, were conducting air assault training operations with the support of the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade when a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed into dense snowy woods, roughly three miles northeast of Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield.
Eleven Soldiers were killed and two injured.
The Soldiers were awaiting a deployment to the Persian Gulf before the training accident, and nearly half of those killed had served a combat tour in Afghanistan.
The incident resonated throughout the installation as Fort Drum Soldiers, civilians and family members mourned the tragic loss as a community. More than 2,500 people attended a memorial service March 14 inside a 10th CAB hangar at Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield.
“This accident serves as a stark reminder of what we as a nation ask our young Soldiers to do – to train hard, under difficult conditions, and to be prepared for any mission given, even at the risk of death,” said then-division commander Maj. Gen. Franklin Hagenbeck.
One year after the crash, 10th Mountain Division (LI) Soldiers gathered for a memorial dedication at the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment headquarters. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team commander at the time, Col. Mark A. Milley, joined two survivors of the crash to unveil the memorial.
The plaque bears the names of the 11 fallen Infantry and Aviation Soldiers above a picture of a Black Hawk helicopter. A Fort Drum Eagle Scout and 4-31 Infantry Soldiers had planted 11 flowering pear trees around the memorial.
“This memorial now stands as a permanent reminder of their sacrifice in the defense of freedom,” Milley said. “These young brave men truly gave their last full measure of devotion to ensure your freedom and my freedom will last forever.”
| Date Taken: | 08.28.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.28.2025 11:59 |
| Story ID: | 546778 |
| Location: | FORT DRUM, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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