Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christian P. Humphreys

Died November 15, 2008 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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28, of Fallon, Nev.; assigned to the 6th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, Task Force 49, U.S. Army Alaska, Fort Wainwright, Alaska; died Nov. 15 in Mosul, Iraq, when his OH-58 Kiowa helicopter crashed while on a mission over Mosul. Also killed was Chief Warrant Officer 3 Donald V. Clark.

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Pilot killed in Iraq remembered at NAS Fallon

The Associated Press

FALLON, Nev. — An Army pilot killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq spent about two years at the Fallon Naval Air Station where he was remembered Tuesday as a “funny, nice guy” who loved to fly.

Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christian P. Humphreys, 28, who listed his hometown as Fallon, died Saturday when his OH-58 Kiowa helicopter crashed while on a mission over Mosul in Iraq.

Humphreys flew with the Fallon Naval Air Station Search and Rescue Longhorns from June 6, 2004, to May 5, 2006. He left the Navy and joined the Army as part of the “Blue to Green” program to become a helicopter pilot.

At the time of his death, he was assigned to the 6th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, Task Force 49, U.S. Army Alaska, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

“He was a great guy, always happy and had a joke,” said Sean Whitney, a flight medic, told the Lahontan Valley News on Tuesday. He said Humphreys lived in a rented house on the northwest side of Fallon.

“We used to play with our paintball guns in the cornfields behind his house,” Whitney said.

Whitney remembered when Humphreys married Christina Williams in the fall of 2004. He recollected how they were trying to make a better life for themselves while stationed in Fallon.

Humphreys wife and his parents currently live in Alamogordo, N.M. Funeral arrangements are pending there.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Schmidt knew Humphreys during the entire time he was assigned to the Longhorns.

“He was a funny guy, a nice guy, a lot of character,” Schmidt said. “Some of the guys here still remember him.” The guy was always entertaining, always had something to say, but like everyone here, he displayed the professionalism in saving lives.”

“This is one guy who loved to fly. He wanted to fly in the front seat,” Schmidt said.”

As a rescue crew chief, Humphreys was in charge of the operation behind the pilots. Schmidt said Humphreys made the decisions when to deploy rescue crews out of the helicopter to assist injured people, and he also took care of the equipment.

Schmidt said the last time the local NAS Fallon Search and Rescue team saw Humphreys was earlier this year when he passed through the valley on his way to Ft. Wainwright.

“We told him to go have fun in Alaska,” Schmidt said. “We all told him he was a lucky son of a gun to be stationed there during a time of war.”

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2 Fort Wainwright servicemen remembered

The Associated Press

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — They came from different backgrounds, but shared one passion: flying.

That’s how hundreds from the Fort Wainwright Community remembered two fallen airmen killed Nov. 15 in Mosul, Iraq.

Chief Warrant Officers Donald V. Clark and Christian P. Humphreys were killed instantly when their OH-58 Kiowa helicopter crashed.

Clark, 37, of Tennessee, was remembered for his rough-and-tumble demeanor. He had served as a flight instructor in Korea and Alabama.

Humphreys, 28, of New Mexico, served as a crew chief in the Navy before joining the Army. He was remembered for his love for board games, particularly backgammon.