Four Black Hawk casualties identified
The military also identified a Fort Lewis Stryker Brigade soldier who died Aug. 16 in Balad, Iraq, from small arms fire.
Killed in Wednesday's helicopter crash were Capt. Corry P. Tyler, 29, of Georgia; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Paul J. Flynn, 28, of Whitsett, N.C.; Sgt. Matthew L. Tallman, 30, of Groveland, Calif., and Spc. Rickey L. Bell, 21, of Caruthersville, Mo., Fort Lewis said in a statement.
A spokesman for Tyler's family, Pastor William Warnock, had earlier provided a local hometown of Puyallup, Wash., for him.
The four were the crew of the UH-60 helicopter, which crashed near Kirkuk after picking up soldiers on their way out of a nighttime operation, Fort Lewis spokesman David Kuhns said earlier.
Army officials in Iraq said they believed the crash was caused by mechanical failure.
The four were part of the 4th Squadron, 6th Air Cavalry Regiment. Kuhns said they had deployed to Iraq in May, and their unit was attached while in Iraq to the 25th Infantry Division's combat aviation brigade, based in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
Ten of those killed were based at Schofield Barracks.
Tyler, an Army aviation officer, was a 1999 West Point graduate. After completing Army aviator training in 2000, he was first sent to Iraq in April 2003 and was first assigned to Fort Lewis in June 2005. He was sent to Iraq again in May 2006, returning to Fort Lewis in November 2006.
The Tyler family's pastor says he volunteered to returned to Iraq even though he didn't have to.
"It speaks highly of his integrity. I served in the service. Any person who volunteers, they're just special, just absolutely special people," said Rev. William Warnock.
Rev. Warnock says the captain's mother, Jennifer, is flying in to be with Kathy Tyler and her children. A fund has been set up at any Washington Mutual branch to help the family.
Flynn, a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot, first entered the military in June 1997. In 2003, he completed Army aviator training. He came to Fort Lewis in August 2005.
Tallman, a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter repairer, was posthumously promoted to his current rank from the rank of specialist. He entered the military in January 2000 and reported to Fort Lewis in August 2005.
Bell, a light-wheel vehicle mechanic, entered the military in July 2005 and came to Fort Lewis in December of that year. His friends in Missouri are mourning his loss.
"We have a lot of good memories," said Thomas Guest, a friend. "There's been a lot of people die and now we have somebody from Caruthersville who have died and he's a really good friend to a lot of people here and everybody knows him, so it's really sad."
"I was listening to the news and I heard the tragedy of the helicopter crash and I thought, 'oh how sad, all those families loosing their loved ones', not even knowing that it was actually a former student and a friend of the family," said Dona Clark, Bell's family friend.
The Army says the Black Hawk had mechanical problems and crashed shortly after takeoff during a night mission. They're checking to see if perhaps the tail rotor malfunctioned causing the aircraft to go into an uncontrollable spiral to the ground.
A memorial will be held at Fort Lewis, but no date has been set.
