Army Spc. Travis R. Vaughn

Died February 18, 2007 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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26, of Reinbeck, Iowa; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Feb. 18 in southeastern Afghanistan when the Chinook helicopter he was in crashed. Also killed were Chief Warrant Officer 3 Hershel D. McCants Jr., Chief Warrant Officer 3 John A. Quinlan, Sgt. Adam A. Wilkinson, Spc. Brandon D. Gordon, Pfc. Ryan C. Garbs, Pfc. Kristofer D. S. Thomas and Air Force Tech. Sgt. Scott E. Duffman.

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Pentagon identifies 8 killed in helo crash

By Sean D. Naylor

Staff writer

Sunday’s crash of a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan killed eight special operations personnel, seven from the Army and one from the Air Force.

The helicopter was an MH-47E from the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment’s 2nd Battalion, according to a source in the special operations community.

According to a Defense Department release, killed in the crash were:

* Pfc. Ryan C. Garbs, 20, of Edwardsville, Ill.; B Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

* Spc. Brandon D. Gordon, 21, of Naples, Fla.; B Company, 2nd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Fort Campbell, Ky.

* Chief Warrant Officer 3 Hershel D. McCants, Jr., 34, of Arizona; B Co., 2nd Battalion, 160th.

* CW3 John A. Quinlan, 26, of New Jersey; B Co., 2nd Battalion, 160th.

* Pfc. Kristofer D. Thomas, 18, of Roseville, Calif.; B Co., 3rd Battalion., 75th Ranger Regiment.

* Spc. Travis R. Vaughn, 26, of Reinbeck, Iowa; B Co., 2nd Battalion, 160th.

* Sgt. Adam A. Wilkinson, 23, of Miskayuna, N.Y.; B Co., 2nd Battalion, 160th.

* Air Force Tech Sgt. Scott Duffman, of La Cueva, N.M., was assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.

According to a press release posted on the Army Special Operations command web site Tuesday night, 160th Commander Col. Kevin W. Mangum said, “The aircraft was crewed by an exceptionally qualified team of professionals and was flying in a formation of other aircraft in performance of this mission. It is unclear at this time as to exactly what caused the aircraft to crash onto a high plain in southeastern Afghanistan.

“While it is important that we investigate and determine what caused this tragic event — which we will — our immediate and lasting concern is for the families and friends of the extraordinary men who served their country with distinction,” Mangum said.

Fourteen others were wounded in the crash when the helicopter reportedly had a sudden, unexplained loss of power and control before crashing in southeastern Afghanistan.

A combat search and rescue operation was launched immediately to secure the site and recover the passengers, the release said, adding that wounded personnel were transported to coalition medical facilities for treatment.

The 160th, the Rangers and the 24th STS all support Joint Special Operations Command, which is headquartered at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., and is in charge of the most sensitive special operations missions. The 160th is headquartered at Fort Campbell, Ky., and the 24th STS is headquartered at Pope.

The helicopter was carrying 22 personnel, and while some of the survivors “did walk away,” several others are very seriously injured, the source said.

The helicopter was flying from Kandahar to Bagram at about 300 feet above the ground when it experienced a sudden loss of power, the source said. Initial speculation about the cause of the loss of power has centered on the possibility of engine icing, he said. But whatever caused the loss of power, “at 300 feet you don’t have a lot of space to recover,” the source added.

The helicopter appears to have come down aft end first, then bounced on its nose, causing the transmission assembly to come down on the cockpit, crushing the personnel at the front of the helicopter, according to the source.

The Chinook crashed in Zabol province about 50 yards away from the main Kabul to Kandahar highway, according to press reports.

The helicopter is at least the fifth MH-47 that has crashed or been shot down worldwide since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The 160th is the only unit that flies the MH-47.

The 160th will hold a memorial ceremony for those killed on Wednesday.

Walter Sokalski, spokesman for USASOC, had no comment when reached by phone Tuesday.

A U.S. military statement said details of the crash or the helicopter’s mission would not be released until “completion of recovery operations.”

Thousands of U.S. forces are deployed in southeastern Afghanistan, including in Zabul, where they have a base under NATO command.

The province has long been a hotbed for militant supporters of the former Taliban regime who have stepped up attacks over the past year.

In May 2006, another U.S. CH-47 Chinook crashed attempting a nighttime landing on a small mountaintop in eastern Kunar province, killing 10 soldiers.

In 2005, a helicopter crashed in Kunar, after apparently being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, killing 16 American troops.

Another crash of a civilian helicopter last year in southeastern Khost province killed up to 16 people, including the wife and two daughters of a U.S. civilian worker.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Soldier from Iowa killed in helicopter crash in Afghanistan

By Melanie S. Welte

The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa — A soldier from Iowa died in the weekend crash of a military helicopter in southeastern Afghanistan, his family said Monday.

Spc. Travis Vaughn, of Cedar Falls, died early Sunday in the crash of a CH-47 Chinook, his stepmother, Kandi Vaughn, of Reinbeck, said.

They were told the helicopter “lost power,” she said.

“It’s like a bad dream,” Kandi Vaughn said. “You say a little prayer for the people you see, the pictures you see on TV and you say a little prayer for the family. Now, it’s us.”

The military said the Chinook was carrying 22 U.S. service members when it crashed in the Shahjoi district of Zabul province, about 50 yards from the main highway between Kabul and Kandahar. Eight American troops were killed. Fourteen people on board survived.

It was the worst U.S. crash in Afghanistan since last May.

A NATO spokesman denied the helicopter had been shot down, saying the pilot had radioed ahead to report engine problems.

The Department of Defense on Monday had not released the names of the soldiers killed or injured in the crash

Travis Vaughn grew up in Cedar Falls and graduated from Cedar Falls High School. He joined the Army about three ago, Kandi Vaughn said. He was stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky.

He and his wife, Heather, who grew up in Waterloo, have a 5-year-old son, Taylin. They live in the Fort Campbell area.

“He was a really good kid. He really changed his life around when he decided to go in the Army. He just gave it his all,” Kandi Vaughn said.

“Travis’ dad (Brad) said ‘Of course he had to do special ops. He couldn’t just go in and be in, he had to do the risky stuff,’ “she said.

Kandi Vaughn said when he was little, Travis loved to tear his toys apart.

“He could tear a Chinook apart and put it back together,” almost blindfolded, she said.

Funeral services are pending.

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Afghan crash kills Iowa soldier

By William Petroski

Des Moines Register

Army Spc. Travis Vaughn of Cedar Falls was among eight American soldiers killed Sunday in a military helicopter crash in Afghanistan, family members and friends confirmed Monday.

He was the 52nd person with Iowa ties to have died in Iraq or Afghanistan since March 2003.

Vaughn, 25, “was a real solid kid,” said the Rev. John Fuller, pastor of Prairie Lakes Church in Cedar Falls, who learned of Vaughn’s death Sunday morning. Fuller married Vaughn and his wife, Heather, in an Iowa ceremony two years ago. The couple had lived near the Fort Campbell, Ky., military base.

“He came into Heather’s life, and he became Christian. Heather had a son, and he really took on the father’s role. He was a good father and a good husband,” Fuller said.

Central Command said eight troops died and 14 others were injured when the CH-47 helicopter had a “sudden, unexplained loss of power and control” and crashed in eastern Afghanistan. The Defense Department withheld some soldiers’ names pending notification of relatives.

“The loss of these service members is felt by all of us here in Afghanistan, and we offer the deepest sympathy to the families of those who were killed,” said Lt. Col. David Accetta, a U.S. spokesman.

Col. Tom Collins, a NATO spokesman, said the crash was not caused by enemy fire, according to the Associated Press. The pilot radioed he was having engine problems before the aircraft hit the ground, he said.

Vaughn was the son of Christine Vaughn and Brad Vaughn, according to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. His in-laws, Rod and Elaine Reinertson of Waterloo, headed to the Fort Campbell area to be with their daughter after they learned of his death. “They are still in the pretty numb stage,” Fuller said Monday.

Funeral arrangements were pending, but services will be held at Prairie Lakes, a Baptist-affiliated church, after the soldier’s body is returned to Iowa, Fuller said.

Vaughn was a 1999 graduate of Cedar Falls High School, school officials said. His stepmother, Kandi Vaughn of Reinbeck, told the Associated Press that Travis had grown up in Cedar Falls and had joined the Army about three years ago. His stepson, Taylin, is 5.

“It’s like a bad dream,” she said. “You say a little prayer for the people you see, the pictures you see on TV, and you say a little prayer for the family. Now it is us.”

Kandi Vaughn said that Travis had loved to tear his toys apart when he was a child, and he could do the same with the Army’s Chinook helicopter.

“He was really a good kid. He really changed his life around when he decided to go into the Army. He just gave it his all,” she said.

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5 Fort Campbell, Ky., soldiers among 8 killed in recent Afghan helicopter crash

The Associated Press

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Five soldiers from Fort Campbell were among eight killed in a helicopter crash over the weekend in Afghanistan, the Defense Department said Feb. 20.

The military said the CH-47 Chinook was carrying 22 U.S. service members when it crashed Feb. 18 in the Shahjoi district of Zabul province. Fourteen people on board survived.

The Fort Campbell soldiers were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), the Pentagon said.

The crash remained under investigation, though military officials have said the twin-rotor helicopter was not shot down. It was the deadliest incident in Afghanistan this year.

The Fort Campbell soldiers have been identified as Chief Warrant Officer John A. Quinlan, 36, the pilot, of New Jersey; Chief Warrant Officer Hershel D. McCants Jr., 33, of Arizona; Sgt. Adam A. Wilkinson, 23, of Fort Carson, Colo.; Spc. Travis R. Vaughn, 26, of Reinbeck, Iowa; and Spc. Brandon D. Gordon, 21, of Naples, Fla.

Also killed were Pfcs. Ryan C. Garbs, 20, of Edwardsville, Ill., and Kristofer D.S. Thomas, 18, of Roseville, Calif., the Defense Department said. They were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

The Defense Department earlier identified Tech. Sgt. Scott E. Duffman, 32, of Albuquerque, N.M. He was assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.