Army Sgt. Stephen C. High

Died April 6, 2005 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

---

45, of Spartanburg, S.C.; assigned to the 228th Signal Brigade, South Carolina Army National Guard, Spartanburg, S.C.; killed April 6 when the CH-47 helicopter in which he was riding crashed in Ghazni, Afghanistan. Fifteen service members were killed or are unaccounted for in the crash.

* * * * *

S.C. soldier killed in Afghanistan

Associated Press

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — The third South Carolina soldier killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan will be laid to rest Tuesday.

Army National Guard Sgt. Stephen High, 45, was part of the 18-man crew on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter that went down April 6 in a sandstorm about 80 miles south of the Afghanistan capital of Kabul.

He had been officially classified as missing, but his family learned this weekend that the body had been identified and would be returned to Spartanburg by Sunday night.

“All of this week has been so long — not knowing anything,” Eugene High said of his son. “That has really been the worst part of it. Knowing now that he is coming, and that the final arrangements have been made, kind of lifts a little weight off of us.”

Two other South Carolina soldiers were killed in the crash: Maj. Edward J. Murphy, 36, of Mount Pleasant, and Spc. Chrystal G. Stout, 23, of Travelers Rest.

Murphy was assigned to the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force at Camp Ederle, Italy. High and Stout were part of the Army National Guard’s 228th Signal Brigade based in Spartanburg.