| | | Fort
Campbell is mourning the loss of seven soldiers killed and four soldiers injured
in an April 22 helicopter crash. WASHINGTON
(Army News Service, April 27, 1999)
Dead are: Chief Warrant Officer Aaron
K. Power, 23; Sgt. Robert G. Millward, 32; Sgt. Julius R. Wilkes, 23; Spc. Fury
J. Rice, 21; Spc. Anthony W. Brown, 29; Spc. James R. Murphy, 25; and Pfc. Earl
C. Eoff, 29. Injured are: 1st Lt. William J. Morrison, in stable condition; Sgt.
Alexis R. Murillas, seriously injured; Sgt. Ricky Garcia, very seriously injured;
and Spc. Matthew C. Biesanz, in stable condition.Authorities have not released
the ages of the injured soldiers at this time. When
the crash occurred, Power, Brown, Eoff and Morrison were on duty with the 5th
Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment; and Millward, Rice, Murphy, Wilkes, Murillas,
Biesanz, and Garcia were on duty with the 6th Battalion (Pathfinder), 101st Aviation
Regiment. The 101st Airborne Division hosted an April 24 Honor Cordon ceremony
in honor of the soldiers killed in the crash. The soldiers were in a UH-60 Blackhawk
helicopter which crashed in a northwest Fort Campbell training area, officials
said. The cause of the crash is under investigation, according to officials. (Editor's
note: Information provided by a 101st Airborne Division and Fort Campbell Public
Affairs Office news IN REMEMBRANCE
OF THOSE WHO DIED (Senate - April 26, 1999) (In the Congressional Record)
[Page: S4210] GPO's PDF, Mr. BUNNING. Mr.
President, a tragedy occurred in my home state of Kentucky on the morning of April
22nd. A UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter crashed at Ft. Campbell during a training
mission. Seven of the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division's finest soldiers
died in that crash.
I would ask us all to remember Sergeant Anthony Wade Brown,
Specialist Earl Condary Eoff , Sergeant Robert Gerald Millward, Sergeant James
Robert Murphy, Jr., Chief Warrant Officer Two Aaron King Power, Specialist Fury
John Rice, and Sergeant Julius Raymond Wilkes, Jr. We must also keep their fellow
soldiers, friends, and especially their families in our prayers during this difficult
time of mourning.
These seven soldiers took an oath when they joined the military
to defend this great nation. We must not take for granted their service and their
commitment to us. We should take an oath now that they will remain in our hearts
forever and that we will never forget them.
God bless these men. Published
Sunday, April 25, 1999, in the Herald-Leader
Desire to serve, love of work
led men to Army
ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT CAMPBELL -- Army Spec. Earl
C. Eoff came from a military family. But his father said it wasn't the lure of
military service that caused his son to enlist in 1994.
"He just wanted
to work on helicopters, and that was the way to do it,'' said James Eoff, who
was a Marine.
Earl Eoff, 29, of Greenwood, Mo., was one of seven soldiers
killed Thursday when a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter crashed at Fort Campbell.
Earl Eoff was married and had no children. His enlistment was due to end next
year, and he planned to get a civilian job fixing helicopters.
Spec. Anthony
W. Brown, 29, grew up in Herrington, Del., and enlisted in the Army in 1993, six
years after he graduated from Lake Forest High School.
Anthony Brown's sister,
Tangy Rains, 26, said her brother planned to make a career of the Army and had
recently re-enlisted for his third three-year stint.
Rains said her brother
married his high-school girlfriend, Linsey, in 1993. She said the couple had two
sons, Trevor, 3, and Bryce, 6 months.
Audrey Wilkes, mother of Sgt. Julius
R. Wilkes Jr., 23, said from her home in Florence, S.C., that her son had always
yearned to serve like his father, who was in Vietnam. He was married and had a
son. His brother is in the Air Force, she said.
Sgt. Robert G. Millward, 32,
was known for his engaging sense of humor. He had been a high-school wrestler
and a running back on the Bald Eagle Area High School football team in Bellefonte,
Pa. He planned a career in the Army.
Also killed in the crash were Spec. James
R. Murphy Jr., 25; Spec. Fury J. Rice, 21; and Chief Warrant Officer Aaron K.
Power, 30.
Earl Condary Eoff was born 12 January 1970. A graduate of Greenfield
High School, Greenfield, Missouri and attended Southwest Missouri University.
He bought a small farm and raised feeder pig. He also fished off the coast
of Alaska part time several years. Specialist Eoff enlisted in the United States
Army in 1994. Earl wanted to learn to repair helicopters and hoped to finish
his enlistment at a helicopter rebuild center near his home. He attended Basic
Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina and Advanced Individual Training at Fort
Eustis, Virginia. He earned the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Achievement Medal
(1 Oak Leaf Cluster), Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Ribbon, Army
Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Aircraft Crewmember Badge, Air Assault
Badge, Drivers Badge, Expert Rifle Badge.
In December of 1997 Specialist Eoff
arrived at Fort Campbell for duty with Alpha Company, 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation
Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) where he served as a Crewchief
for his battallion. He and his crew were selected to go with President Clinton
during his trip to Africa .His previous assignments include the Camp Humphreys,
Korea. Specialist Eoff is survived by his wife, Mrs. Linda Eoff of Greenfield,
Missouri, whom he married in 1997; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Rayford
Eoff of Greenfield, Missouri; and sister, Mrs. Samantha Ryals of Greenfield, Missouri.
He is interned in the Greenfield Cemetary. Our
condolences go out to his loved ones. He is the first Eoff to have been lost in
the military in this generation.
(picture and information courtesy of James
Rayford Eoff) |
