The identifies of nine soldiers killed when two Army Black Hawk helicopters crashed in Kentucky during a training exercise Wednesday night were released Friday.
According to a statement from the Fort Campbell Army base they are:
- Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes, 33, of Milton, Florida
- Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23, of Austin, Texas
- Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, 36, of Jackson, Missouri
- Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo, 27, of Los Angeles, California
- Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore, 25, of Morehead City, North Carolina
- Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy, 32, of Cape Coral, Florida
- Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, 30, of Mountain Brook, Alabama
- Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith, 32, of Rolla, Missouri
- Sgt. David Solinas Jr, 23, of Oradell, New Jersey
“This is a time of great sadness for the 101st Airborne Division. The loss of these Soldiers will reverberate through our formations for years to come,” said Maj. Gen. JP McGee, commanding general of the 101st Airborne in the statement.
“Now is the time for grieving and healing. The whole division and this community stand behind the families and friends of our fallen Soldiers.”
The crash occurred Wednesday at about 10 p.m. local time (11 p.m. ET) in Trigg County, west of Fort Campbell, the Army base said. The two HH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation aircraft were engaged in a training exercise, officials said.
All nine soldiers were from the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell near Kentucky’s border with Tennessee.
Brig. Gen. John Lubas, deputy commander of the 101st Airborne Division, said Thursday during a news conference there were five people in one helicopter and four in the other, which he described as “fairly typical.”
The helicopters were being flown using night vision goggles, Lubas said.
The Army deployed an aircraft safety team from Alabama who will initiate an investigation into the cause of the crash, Lubas said. He said he is hopeful investigators will be able to pull data from on-board…
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