National Guard Soldier did not live to see his son born, but now all can see his love!

Soldier dad added to family pictures, overlooks infant son born after his death

KWTX News
February 21, 2020

PERHAM, Minn. (KVLY/Gray News) - Charles Nord never got to meet his infant son Jack, but in a new family photograph, the late Minnesota National Guard soldier is there overlooking his young family.

In pictures by photographer Sarah Jean, the chief warrant officer is superimposed, proudly looking over this wife Kaley’s shoulder at his newborn son, Jack Charles Nord, and his toddler daughter, Lydia.

Little Jack was born February 11, about two months after his father died in a Dec. 5 Black Hawk helicopter crash near St. Cloud.

The images of Charles Nord were added to a pair of pictures from a recent family photo shoot. Jean had done photo sessions with the family before.
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Three of Five Soldiers Missing After Black Hawk Crash Identified

3 soldiers confirmed dead in Hawaii crash; Alabama soldier still missing

By The Associated Press

August 28, 2017

Military officials have declared three soldiers dead after their Black Hawk helicopter crashed off Hawaii during a nighttime training mission earlier this month.

The Armed Forces Medical Examiner says 1st Lt. Kathryn Bailey of North Carolina, Staff Sgt. Abigail Milam of Kentucky and Sgt. Michael Nelson of Tennessee are dead after confirming their DNA among debris recovered from the Aug. 15 crash. The three were riding in the helicopter with two others when it crashed off of Oahu.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Stephen Cantrell of Texas and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brian Woeber of Alabama have not been found.

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Soldier Missing Five Rescued After Black Hawk Crash in Yemen

U.S. Black Hawk Helicopter Crashes off Yemen Coast, One Crew Member Missing

Associated Press

August 26, 2017

A U.S. military Black Hawk helicopter crashed off the southern coast of Yemen while training its crew, leaving one service member missing, officials said.

Five others aboard the aircraft were rescued, officials said in a statement issued by U.S. Central Command.

The crash took place Friday evening. Officials said the accident was under investigation.

Asked if the crash involved another special forces raid, Central Command told The Associated Press that "this was a routine training event specifically for U.S. military personnel."

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Fort Hood Rescue Efforts Delayed After Black Hawk Crash

Report: Black Hawk crash rescue efforts stalled nearly 3 hours 
Killeen Daily Herald
By David A. Bryant
Herald staff writer
September 15, 2016

FORT HOOD — Search and rescue operations were not launched for nearly three hours after a fatal Black Hawk helicopter crash on Fort Hood in November due to a series of delays in communication.

Sgt. 1st Class Toby Childers

The UH-60 Black Hawk carrying four soldiers crashed at approximately 5:30 p.m. Nov. 23, 2015, in a training area on Fort Hood. The aircraft was reported missing about 20 minutes later when the crew failed to report over the radio on schedule and was classified as overdue, according to a report on the crash.

Search and rescue missions should begin after officials are unable to make contact. However, an attempt to locate the aircraft was made before notifying the authorities responsible for initiating a search.

There was a nearly three-hour delay in launching those rescue efforts, according to the facts, findings and recommendations section of the internal investigation released Wednesday by First Army.

Regulations state the Installation Operations Center (IOC) on Fort Hood is responsible for initiating search and rescue. However, officials at the IOC seemed “unaware of their role in the overdue aircraft battle drill,” according to the internal investigation.

The report further stated the cause of the crash that killed Sgt. 1st Class Toby Childers, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen B. Cooley, Sgt. 1st Class Jason M. Smith and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael F. Tharp was due to pilot error while attempting a combat maneuvering flight technique called a break turn.
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Black Hawk Memorial for 11 Marines

Families attend unveiling for BLACK HAWK MEMORIAL 
Gulf Breeze News 
BY PAM BRANNON 
March 17, 2016


Hawk Memorial weekend in Navarre was a huge success. Family representatives from all 11 military men lost in the crash over Navarre Sound one year ago were in town to take part in the memorial. Even though the memorial statue was not complete, it was finished enough to give a good representation of how it would look at the final unveiling on Memorial Day this year.

The stars were moved by the statue’s artist and presented to family members by members of the Leadership Santa Rosa Class #29. Then each family received a star mounted in a shadow box to honor their family member.

Family representatives arrived in Navarre March 9 and 10 to attend the first memorial event on Navarre Beach at the marine park the evening of Thursday, March 10 when a group of Marines began a Ruckers March across the Navarre Beach bridge at 8:21 p.m. – the exact time of the crash one year before. Then the following morning, March 11, the marchers joined the community and families of the lost in Navarre Park on Hwy. 98 for the formal Memorial Ceremony.
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Soldier from Florida Among Dead After Blackhawk Crash

Fort Hood releases names of soldiers killed in Blackhawk crash
WFAA 8 ABC News
November 27, 2015

FORT HOOD — The names of the four Soldiers killed in a UH-60L Blackhawk helicopter crash on Nov. 23 have been released after next-of-kin notification. The crash occurred sometime after 5:49 p.m. in the northeast portion of the Fort Hood training area. All four crew members were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 291st Aviation Regiment, First Army Division West. The aircraft, assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment was on a routine training mission.

The Fallen Warriors are: 
Sgt. 1st Class Toby A. Childers, 40, a Hays, Kansas native
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen B. Cooley, 40, a Cantonment, Florida native
Sgt.1st Class Jason M. Smith, 35, a Destrehan, Louisiana native
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Michael F. Tharp, 40, a Katy, Texas native.
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UPDATE report on each soldier. Fort Hood Crash Victims Were Veterans Of Wars In Afghanistan, Iraq

Sgt. 1st Class Toby A. Childers

(Enhanced photo courtesy of Fort Hood Visual Information Services)

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen B. Cooley

(Enhanced photo courtesy of Fort Hood Visual Information Services)

Sgt. 1st Class Jason M. Smith and his wife, Trisha M. Smith

(Photo courtesy of the Smith family)

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael F. Tharp

(Enhanced photo courtesy of Fort Hood Visual Information Services)

Report Claims Black Hawk Pilots Disobeyed Orders

4 minutes ago
Report: Pilots in deadly Black Hawk crash disobeyed orders
Associated Press
By CAIN BURDEAU
Published: October 23, 2015

NEW ORLEANS — An investigation of a Black Hawk helicopter crash in March that killed all 11 service members on board — including seven Marines — shows the Louisiana National Guard pilots in the training mission disobeyed direct orders by flying into worsening weather.

The military said in June that the crash was caused when the pilots became disoriented off the Florida coast.
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National Guard Family Told Son Can't Be Buried at Arlington?

UPDATE
Army sec. approves Arlington burial for La. guardsman killed in helicopter crash

Dad: soldier son killed in training crash deserves Arlington Cemetery burial
FOX News
Published May 30, 2015

A soldier from the Louisiana National Guard who died alongside Marines in a training accident deserves to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, his father said Saturday.

Former Green Beret Stephen Florich told Fox and Friends it is a “travesty” his son has been denied that honor because he was not on active duty at the time of his death.

Most active duty or retired military members of military service are eligible for in-ground interment at Arlington. Members of the reserves or National Guard are not eligible unless they have been on active duty.

“I think my son was very active on that aircraft,” Florich said. “My son was in uniform. My son was serving in the capacity as a crew chief and a door gunner. And in adverse weather conditions, he accepted a mission to train people for combat in the future. And in that, he gave all and lost his life.”

The March 11 crash in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida killed Staff Sgt. Thomas Florich, 26, of Baton Rouge, La., three other guardsmen and seven Marines. The Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter went down in heavy fog.

One of the Marines involved in the crash, Sgt. Andrew Seif, who had recently been awarded the Silver Star, the nation’s third highest award for valor, was buried at Arlington in April.

The seven U.S. Marines aboard the helicopter were all active duty service members and part of Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC).
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National Cemetery Administration

Members of Reserve Components and Reserve Officers’ Training Corps


(1) Reservists and National Guard members who, at time of death, were entitled to retired pay under Chapter 1223, title 10, United States Code, or would have been entitled, but for being under the age of 60. Specific categories of individuals eligible for retired pay are delineated in section 12731 of Chapter 1223, title 10, United States Code.

(2) Members of reserve components, and members of the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard, who die while hospitalized or undergoing treatment at the expense of the United States for injury or disease contracted or incurred under honorable conditions while performing active duty for training or inactive duty training, or undergoing such hospitalization or treatment.

(3) Members of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps of the Army, Navy, or Air Force who die under honorable conditions while attending an authorized training camp or on an authorized cruise, while performing authorized travel to or from that camp or cruise, or while hospitalized or undergoing treatment at the expense of the United States for injury or disease contracted or incurred under honorable conditions while engaged in one of those activities.

(4)Members of reserve components who, during a period of active duty for training, were disabled or died from a disease or injury incurred or aggravated in line of duty or, during a period of inactive duty training, were disabled or died from an injury or certain cardiovascular disorders incurred or aggravated in line of duty.

Pain doesn't end for families after end of war in Afghanistan

Afghanistan war ends but grief endures for Dunedin mom
TBO
Howard Altman
December 30, 2014

For Kim Allison, the pain of loss did not end Sunday when Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel presided over a ceremony in Kabul officially closing out the 13-year-long war in Afghanistan.

On March 11, 2013, Allison’s youngest son, Army Spc. Zachary Shannon, died in a Black Hawk helicopter crash in Afghanistan.

Shannon, a 2010 graduate of Dunedin High School, was just 21.

There was no way of knowing it at the time, but Shannon would be the last service member who grew up in the Tampa area to die in Operation Enduring Freedom, as the war was officially called,

Since Oct. 7, 2001, when bombs and missiles began falling on insurgent positions in Afghanistan, 150 service members who listed Florida as their home of choice died in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Aside from Shannon, there were 34 men and one woman who listed Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Manatee or Hernando counties as their addresses, according to an Associated Press database.

Allison, 53, says she didn’t pay attention to the Kabul ceremony, didn’t really realize the war was over and didn’t know that her son was the last lifelong Floridian to die.

All she knew was that the grief is enduring — for her son, for all the others who made the ultimate sacrifice and their families and for all those who survived but are still suffering the aftermath of combat.

“I will be glad when the troops come home,” she says, “so that nobody else will go through what we did.”
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Troops listing the Tampa area as home who died in the Afghanistan war.

Oct. 8, 2002: Marine Cpl. Antonio James Sledd, 20, Tampa.
March 23, 2003: Air Force Mst. Sgt. Michael Henry Maltz, 42, St. Petersburg.
May 8, 2004: Marine Cpl. Ronald Raymond Payne Jr., 23, Lakeland.
July 2, 2003: Army Staff Sgt. Michael Wayne Shafer 25, Spring Hill.
June 24, 2006: Florida Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Joseph Frederick Fuerst III, 26, Tampa.
June 28, 2006: Army Cpl. Aaron Matthew Griner, 24, Tampa.
April 27, 2007: Army Staff Sgt. Michael D. Thomas, 34, Seffner.
Aug. 28. 2007: Army Sgt. Cory L. Clark, 25, Plant City.
Sept. 28, 2008: Army Sgt. William E. Hasenflu, 38, Bradenton.
June 15, 2009: Army Spc. Jonathan C. O’Neill 22, Zeyphyrhills.
July 14, 2009: Army Sgt. 1st Class Jason J. Fabrizi, 29, Seffner.
July 24, 2009: Army Spc. Justin D. Coleman, 21, Weeki Wachee.
Oct. 23, 2009: Army Spc. Eric N. Lembke, 25, Tampa.
Jan. 24, 2010: Marine Sgt. Daniel M. Angus, 28, Thonotosassa.
Feb. 13, 2010: Army Staff Sgt. John A. Reiners, 24, Lakeland.
March 14, 2010: Marine Cpl. Jonathan D. Porto, 26, Largo.
June 27, 2010: Army Spc. David W. Thomas, 40, St. Petersburg.
Aug. 8, 2010: Army Pfc. Paul O. Cuzzupe, 23, Plant City.
Aug. 21, 2010: Marine Lance Cpl. Nathaniel J. A. Schultz, 19, Safety Harbor.
Oct. 10, 2010: Army Spc. David A. Hess, 25, Ruskin.
Feb. 22, 2011: Marine Cpl. Jonathan W. Taylor, 23, Homosassa.
March 22, 2011: Army Pfc. Michael C. Mahr, 26, Homosassa.
April 28, 2011: Marine Lance Cpl. Ronald D. Freeman, 25, Plant City.
June 2, 2011: Army 1st Lt. Dimitri Del Castillo, 24, Tampa.
July 16, 2011: Army Spc. Frank R. Gross, 25, Oldsmar.
Sept. 4, 2011: Army Pfc. Christophe J. Marquis, 40, Tampa.
Sept. 28, 2011: Army 1st Lt. Ivan D. Lechowich, 27, Valrico.
Dec. 3, 2011: Army Spc. Ryan M. Lumley, 21, Lakeland.
June 11, 2012: Navy Master Chief Petty Officer Richard J. Kessler, 47, Gulfport.
July 8, 2012: Army Spc. Clarence Williams III, 23, Brooksville.
July 8, 2012, Army Staff Sgt. Ricardo Seija, 31, Tampa.
Aug. 2, 2012: Army Staff Sgt. Matthew S. Sitton, 26, Largo.
Oct. 13, 2012: Army Spc. Brittany B. Gordon, 24 St. Petersburg.
March 11, 2013: Army Spc. Zachary L. Shannon, 21, Dunedin.
*April 3, 2013: Air Force Cpt. Michael Steel, 29, Tampa.
*Aug. 20, 2014: Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew I. Leggett, 39, Ruskin.
*Though troops can list anywhere as an address of choice, neither Steel nor Leggett grew up in Florida.
Steel was born at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa but moved out of state when he was a toddler. Leggett was born in Minnesota and raised in Wisconsin, but his mother lives in Ruskin.
Source” AP News Research Web services.

Special Ops Member killed in Black Hawk hard landing

Member Of Elite Army Helicopter Unit Killed In 'Hard Landing' Accident; At Least 2 Others Injured
Huffington Post
By RUSS BYNUM
01/16/14

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A member of an elite Army helicopter unit was killed and two crew members suffered injuries when their aircraft slammed into the ground as they tried to land at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, a military spokesman said Thursday.

The MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was returning from a routine training flight when it made a "hard landing" just before 11:30 p.m. Wednesday on or near the airstrip at the base in coastal Georgia, said Army Maj. Allen Hill, a spokesman for the crew's aviation unit.

The three-man crew was assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, which trains soldiers to fly helicopters behind enemy lines under cover of darkness. Nicknamed the Night Stalkers, the unit was responsible for flying Navy SEALs into Pakistan during the 2010 raid in which Osama Bin Laden was killed. The 160th regiment is headquartered at Fort Campbell, Ky., but has a battalion stationed in Savannah.
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4 US airmen presumed dead in chopper crash near England

4 US airmen presumed dead in chopper crash near English coast
NBC News
By M. Alex Johnson, Staff Writer
25 minutes ago

Four U.S. airmen were presumed dead after a U.S. military helicopter crashed Tuesday near the eastern coast of England, U.S. military officials told NBC News.

Local police confirmed that four people were believed to have been killed in the crash about 6 p.m. (1 p.m. ET) in the area of Salthouse on the Norfolk coast.

The helicopter, an Air Force HH-60 Pave-Hawk — a modified version of the Army's Black Hawk — was on a training mission when it went down, the U.S. officials said. It was assigned to RAF Lakenheath, the British base that is also home to the U.S. Air Force's 48th Fighter Wing.
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Blackhawk crash in Afghanistan leaves 6 troops dead and 1 survivor

6 U.S. troops die in Afghanistan helicopter crash
CBS/AP
December 17, 2013

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Six U.S. troops were killed Tuesday when their Blackhawk helicopter made a hard landing in southern Afghanistan and then came under attack by insurgents, American officials tell CBS News.

It was not immediately clear whether the six died in the hard landing or in the subsequent attack on their position.

One person on board the aircraft was injured and survived, two U.S. defense officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.

A statement issued by the NATO international military coalition said the crash was under investigation and that there was no insurgent activity in the area. In Washington, an official originally said the helicopter had experienced engine failure before the crash, but later said that it was unclear whether that was the case.

The deputy governor of southern Zabul province, Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar, said a NATO helicopter crashed in the remote district of Shajau and U.S. officials later confirmed that Zabul was the location of the U.S. crash.
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11 U.S. troops injured in helicopter crash

11 U.S. troops injured in helicopter crash

By Michael Hoffman - mhoffman@militarytimes.com
Posted : Tuesday Mar 30, 2010 15:21:51 EDT

KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — An Army helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff from a forward operating base in Zabul province, injuring 11 U.S. and two Afghan soldiers. No one died and all the troops reported their injuries as minor.

The UH-60 Blackhawk sustained heavy damage in the March 29 accident, not far from Forward Operating Base Atgar, said Sgt. Shannon Wright, an 82nd Combat Aviaition Brigade spokesman. Rescue forces flew the wounded to Forward Operating Base Lagman for treatment.
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11 US troops injured in helicopter crash

Soldier killed in Black Hawk crash identified

Soldier killed in Black Hawk crash identified

The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Oct 26, 2009 13:34:06 EDT

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Military officials have identified the soldier killed when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed on a Navy ship during training off the Virginia coast.

A statement by Fort Bragg on Sunday said 29-year-old Army Staff Sgt. James R. Stright of Libby, Mont., was killed Oct. 22.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/ap_army_black_hawk_crash_102509/
also
• 1 dead, 8 hurt in Black Hawk crash on ship

One of Army's newest officers killed in Texas A and M Blackhawk crash

Texas A&M Black Hawk crash kills 1, injures 4

By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jan 13, 2009 15:26:21 EST

One month after receiving his commission, 2nd Lt. Zachary Cook, one of the Army’s newest officers, was killed on the same campus where he received his degree.

Cook, 22, of Lufkin, Texas, was in the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that crashed Monday in a field on the campus of Texas A&M University. Cook, who was planning to be a pilot, received his commission Dec. 12.

Four other soldiers, all members of the air crew and the Texas National Guard, were injured.

The four Guard soldiers, a chief warrant officer 2, a first lieutenant and two sergeants, are assigned to C Company, 1st Battalion, 108th Aviation Regiment, said Col. Bill Meehan, a spokesman for the Texas Guard.

The company, based in Austin, belongs to the Guard’s 36th Combat Aviation Brigade.

The helicopter crashed at about 3:30 p.m. near the Corps of Cadets field on the school’s College Station campus, 100 miles northwest of Houston, according to the Associated Press.
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Blackhawk crashes at Texas A and M Campus

Helicopter Crashes on Texas A and M's Campus, One Dead

Posted: 3:18 PM Jan 12, 2009
Last Updated: 4:42 PM Jan 12, 2009
Reporter: KBTX Staff


One person was killed and four others were injured after an Army Blackhawk helicopter crashed Monday into a field near the Corps of Cadets quad on the campus of Texas A and M University.

The Army UH-60 Blackhawk had a crew of five on board, including four members of the Army National Guard and one member of the ROTC staff at Texas A and M who is a recent graduate, according to Texas A and M officials. The helicopter was reportedly taking off with the crew on board when it fell abruptly back to the ground around 3 p.m.

The identity of the person killed has not been released.

Some of the injured were taken to St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Bryan, others to the College Station Medical Center. Their names and conditions are unknown.

Multiple law enforcement agencies are on the scene at Duncan Field where the crash took place.
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Linked from CNN