Some Troops Killed In Helo Crash Identified

From the Associated Press:

Reports identifying some of the U.S. troops killed when their helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan began circulating Sunday.

Thirty Americans and eight Afghans were killed in the crash, making it the deadliest single loss for U.S. forces in the decade-long war in Afghanistan.

The following is a collection of reports from the Associated Press where family members identified some of the Americans killed in the crash.

AIR FORCE TECH SGT. JOHN W. BROWN

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas woman whose son and 37 others were killed when their helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan says he was a hero.

Elizabeth Newlun confirmed Sunday that her son, Air Force Tech Sgt. John W. Brown, died in the crash. Newlun says Brown was a paramedic whose unit was attached to the Navy SEALs.

She says her son was athletic and went to John Brown University on a swimming scholarship. Newlun says he wanted to go into medicine, but instead joined the military after seeing a video about a special tactical unit.

Brown attended high school with state Rep. Jon Woods, who called him the ideal model for a soldier — tall, physically fit and smart.

Newlun says Brown will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

ARMY SPECIALIST 4 SPENCER C. DUNCAN

OLATHE, Kan. — A 21-year-old Kansas soldier was among 30 U.S. troops killed when a helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan.

Chief Warrant Officer Michael Walsh said Sunday that Specialist 4 Spencer C. Duncan was serving as a door gunner on the CH-47 helicopter that was hit by rocket fire Saturday.

Walsh said Duncan, who graduated from Olathe South High School, was a member of Bravo Company, 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment based at New Century AirCenter in Gardner.

Duncan joined the military in 2008 and had been in Afghanistan since late May. He was stationed at Forward Operating Base, Shank.

ARMY SGT. PATRICK HAMBURGER

OMAHA, Neb. — A fallen Nebraska National Guard member had only been in Afghanistan a week or so before being killed in a military helicopter crash, his brother said Sunday.

Sgt. Patrick Hamburger, 30, of Grand Island, was among 30 Americans killed when a U.S. military helicopter was shot down Friday.

Military officials have not released the names of those killed, but Hamburger’s family confirmed his death. A message left Sunday for the Nebraska National Guard wasn’t immediately returned.

Chris Hamburger said his brother landed in Afghanistan less than two weeks ago and arrived at Forward Operating Base Shank a few days ago.

“He didn’t have to go and he wanted to go because his group was getting deployed. He wanted to be there for them — that’s him for you,” Hamburger said, adding that Patrick always looked out for his two younger brothers and friends.

“It doesn’t come as a total surprise that he was trying to help people and that’s how it all ended up happening,” he said.

The Navy SEALs and other troops whose helicopter was shot down had rushed to the mountainous area to help an Army Ranger unit that was under fire from insurgents, two U.S. officials said Sunday.

Chris Hamburger last spoke to his brother July 26, when he arrived in Afghanistan. He said his brother was joking around and didn’t talk about his mission.

“He didn’t want us to worry about it,” he said.

Patrick Hamburger planned to propose to his girlfriend when he got home, his brother said. The couple has a 2-year-old daughter, and his girlfriend has a 13-year-old that Patrick has helped to raise for the past several years.

PETTY OFFICER FIRST CLASS MICHAEL STRANGE

PHILADELPHIA — A northeast Philadelphia family is mourning the death of one of the Navy SEALs killed in the crash of a helicopter shot down in eastern Afghanistan late Friday.

Relatives of 25-year-old Petty Officer First Class Michael Strange said military officials came to their home in the city’s Mayfair section Saturday to tell them of the SEAL’s death.

They described him as a friendly, funny person who decided in high school to join the military. His father told CBS-3 that he “went right up the ladder.”

His mother, Elizabeth Strange, told The Associated Press that her son always told her not to worry about him.

His brother, Charles III, said he loved the physical and competitive aspects of military life.

He last visited in June and was supposed to return for Thanksgiving.

AARON CARSON VAUGHN

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Elite Navy SEALs member Aaron Carson Vaughn had asked the military to return him to combat and shipped out just six weeks before he was killed when a U.S. military helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan, killing 38, including 22 SEALs.

Vaughn’s grandmother, Geneva Vaughn of Union City, Tenn., told The Associated Press on Saturday that her grandson, a Tennessee native, had wanted to be a SEAL since he was a child and returned to combat just two weeks after his 2-month-old daughter was born this summer.

“Aaron was a Christian and he’s with Jesus today,” Vaughn said. “He told us when we saw him last November that he wasn’t afraid because he knew where he was going, and he said, ‘Granny, don’t worry about me.’

“He was a tough warrior, but he was a gentle man.”

The 30-year-old Vaughn was one of 30 American service members, a civilian interpreter and seven Afghan commandos who were killed when their CH-47 Chinook crashed early hours Saturday in eastern Afghanistan. Vaughn and 21 others killed were members of the elite team known for killing Osama Bin Laden earlier this year, though military officials said none of the SEALs killed were involved in that operation.

He leaves behind his wife, Kimberly, and two children, 2-year-old son Reagan and 2-month-old daughter Chamberlyn. Vaughn had been based in Virginia Beach, Va., and had also seen postings in Coronado, Calif., Guam, Germany, Iraq and Afghanistan, his grandmother said.

Geneva Vaughn says Aaron Vaughn joined the SEALs straight out of boot camp and was already a decorated fighter when he was asked by the Navy to return stateside to become an instructor. But he chafed under the assignment and applied to SEAL Team 6 after two years, earning his way onto the squad in 2010. Geneva Vaughn said he was one of the few SEALs who performed well enough to get his name on the “First Time Every Time Wall,” a benchmark of honor for the few SEALs who pass every test on their first try.

He won multiple military medals, Vaughn said.

“The last time he was in Afghanistan he received a medal because his team was under fire and couldn’t see the enemy. He left the ones he was with and drew fire and killed the enemy to save the men he was with. We couldn’t tell any of this stuff when he was alive because it was a secret.”

Vaughn said her grandson met his wife, a former Washington Redskins cheerleader, while she was on tour entertaining groups in Guam and they married about four years ago.

Aaron Vaughn grew up in rural Obion County outside of Union City in northwestern Tennessee and briefly moved with his parents to Stuart, Fla., as a teen. He returned to Obion County to finish his senior year of high school, then attended two years of college before joining the Navy.

“He was doing what he loved to do and he was a true warrior,” Geneva Vaughn said.