Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joshua M. Tillery

Died January 26, 2009 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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31, of Beaverton, Ore.; assigned to the 6th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Jan. 26 in Kirkuk, Iraq, from wounds sustained when two OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters crashed. Also killed were Chief Warrant Officer 2 Matthew G. Kelley, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Benjamin H. Todd and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Philip E. Windorski.

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Met wife when stationed at Lewis

The Associated Press

Joshua M. Tillery’s stepfather described him as an excellent father and someone who loved to help people. Tillery also loved to fly.

“He basically had his head on straight on his shoulders,” Roger Trueax said. “He knew where he was going, he knew where he had been.”

Tillery, 31, of Beaverton, Ore., was killed Jan. 26 when two OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters crashed in Kirkuk, Iraq. He was assigned to Fort Drum.

Tillery loved photography, snowboarding and dirt biking. His mother said he stood about 6 feet tall and had big brown eyes, a strong jaw and an irresistible smile.

The latest in a line of military men, he made forts as a boy.

Kids would knock on the family’s door to ask whether Josh would fix their bikes.

Tillery met his wife-to-be, Stephanie, while they were stationed together at Fort Lewis in Washington. They married a few months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

They have three children — twins, Alec and Colin, who are now 6, and a third son, Hayden, is 2. Stephanie Tillery is pregnant with a fourth child — another boy — expected to be born in May.