On the west side of the barracks.

The monument comprises a bronze eagle statue on a granite plinth mounted with a bronze plaque. The eagle perches on a globe and clutches in its talons the shield from the coat of arms of the U.S. Army 158th Aviation Regiment. A line of Blackhawk helicopters circles the globe. The bronze plaque remembers the crew members killed in a crash during a night training mission in Kuwait in February 2003.

The crew of the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter (88-26083) was part of the 5th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, of the 12th Aviation Brigade based in Giebelstadt, Germany, deployed to Kuwait and attached to a Task Force formed around V Corps 11th Attack Helicopter Regiment. On 25 February 2003, the aircraft was one of two Blackhawks conducting night extraction training of four six-man teams from a long-range surveillance (LRS) unit, as preparation for the invasion from Kuwait into Iraq. At about midnight, about 10 minutes after departing Camp Udairi northwest of Kuwait City, one Blackhawk crashed into the ground from an altitude of about 30 meters in a sandstorm. The accident occurred because the pilots were not warned by the control tower that sandstorm clouds had drastically dropped in altitude. All aircrew members died on impact.

Source of information: www.stripes.com, en.wikipedia.org, www.armyaircrews.com

Source of photo: Lee Fennema, 12CAB Veteran

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Task Force 5-158th Aviation

Aircraft 26083

25 February 2003

Kuwaiti Desert

CW2 J.D. Smith

CW2 Tim Moehling

SGT Gonzo Gonzalez

SGT Will Tracy

Most gave their blood, sweat

and tears for freedom.

These men gave their lives.

While conducting

LRS Insertion training

In preparation for Offensive

Operations against

Iraqi Forces