Fort Drum & the 10th Mountain Division soldiers hold a special place in our hearts; we were stationed there for three years and were there when a crash killed eleven in 2003. We have been gone just long enough that most people we know from Ft. Drum have also moved on. But I still wept as I read this.
Crash Occurred As Chopper Was Boarding Soldiers
Sunday, May 07, 2006, 2:00pm
WWNY Channel 7
The helicopter crash that killed 10 Fort Drum soldiers happened as the helicopter was taking on troops, the 10th Mountain Division’s chief spokesman said Sunday.
Lieutenant Colonel Paul Fitzpatrick said the CH 47 Chinook helicopter had six soldiers aboard as it landed on a mountaintop.
The chopper took on four more soldiers from a group on the ground and then – for reasons still unclear – rolled down the mountain side, Fitzpatrick said.
The crash Friday night was the worst for Fort Drum since March 2003, when 11 soldiers were killed in a crash on post.
The names of the ten will not be released until their families are notified, officials said.
It took two days to recover all the bodies, a job that was not finished until Sunday, Fitzpatrick said.
The soldiers were taking part in an offensive to root out Taliban and al-Qaida militants in Afghanistan.
Additional aircraft and crews were also at the landing zone and confirmed that enemy forces did not cause the crash, the military said.
The crash occurred in Kunar province about 150 miles east of the capital. The site was said to be so remote it could not be reached by vehicle.
The police chief of Kunar province, General Abdul Ghafar, said the helicopter crashed about 10 miles northeast of the US base in Asadabad. He said the crash site was a day’s walk from any passable road.
"Our hearts and prayers go out to the families and comrades of the soldiers who were involved in this crash," said Major General Benjamin Freakley, the 10th Mountain Division commander who is commanding the combined task force in Afghanistan.
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