Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Brian D. Hazelgrove

Died January 23, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

29, of Fort Rucker, Ala.; assigned to 3rd Battalion, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), based at Fort Drum, N.Y.; killed Jan. 23 when his OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter crashed on its way back from a combat mission near Mosul in northern Iraq.

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Army pilot from Indiana killed in helicopter crash

Associated Press

EDINBURGH, Ind. — An Army pilot who grew up in central Indiana was killed when his helicopter crashed during a combat mission in northern Iraq, military officials said.

Chief Warrant Officer Brian D. Hazelgrove, 29, a pilot assigned to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y., died Jan. 24 when his Kiowa Warrior helicopter crashed near Mosul in northern Iraq.

Hazelgrove, a graduate of Edinburgh High School, joined the Army in 1994 and had been in Iraq since November.

“The guy was amazing,” Hazelgrove’s half brother, Brad Lemon, said. “He thrived in the military and was making it a career.”

Survivors include his wife, Kimmi, and four children, Taylor, 11, Zachary, 10, Brandon, 3, and Katelyn, 7 months. The military reported his residence as Fort Rucker, Ala.

Hazelgrove and the other pilot on the helicopter crashed soon after takeoff, the military said. The cause of the crash was unclear. The military said the initial report from an accompanying helicopter did not mention any hostile activity.

Hazelgrove was the 19th person from Indiana to have died while serving in the Mideast during the war in Iraq.