A Friends Tribute to Her Husband A Hero

Near Fallujah, Iraq — Sunday, November 2, 2003
Two CH-47 Chinook helicopter’s were attacked, probably with Soviet designed SA-7 shoulder fired missiles, one helicopter was struck by a missile and crashed. The passengers included several U.S. soldiers headed out of Iraq for rest and recreation trips. According to successive reports released by the Pentagon, the death toll showed 10, then 13, then 15, and then 16 soldiers had died, but on Tuesday the Army revised the number to 15 killed, (according to the Associated Press, Tuesday, November 4, 2003 15:38 PST).
On Thursday, November 6, one Sergeant severely injured in the crash of the Chinook died in a German hospital bringing the toll back to 16 dead and 26 wounded.
Staff Sgt. Daniel Bader, 28, of Colorado Springs, Colo. Assigned to Air Defense Artillery Battery, 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.
Sgt. Ernest G. Bucklew, 33, of Enon Valley, Pa. Assigned to Support Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.
Sgt. Steven D. Conover, 21, of Wilmington, Ohio. Assigned to 2nd Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, Fort Sill, Okla.
Pfc. Anthony D. D’Agostino, 20, of Waterbury, Conn. Assigned to the 16th Signal Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.
Sgt. Paul F. Fisher, 39, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, died November 6, at the Homburg University Klinikum, Homberg, Germany. Sgt. Fisher was very seriously injured on Nov. 2 in Al Fallujah, Iraq, when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter in which he was riding went down.
Spc. Darius T. Jennings, 22, of Cordova, S.C. Assigned to 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.
Pfc. Karina S. Lau, 20, of Livingston, Calif. Assigned to the 16th Signal Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas. DoD Report — Central Valley woman killed in Iraq attack She was headed home to Livingston for surprise visit when helicopter crashed.
Sgt. Keelan L. Moss, 23, of Houston. Assigned to 2nd Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, Fort Sill, Okla.
Spc. Brian Penisten, 28, of Fort Wayne, Ind. Assigned to Air Defense Artillery Battery, 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.
Sgt. Ross A. Pennanen, 36, of Shawnee, Okla. Assigned to 2nd Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, Fort Sill, Okla.
Sgt. Joel Perez, 25, of Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. Assigned to 2nd Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Unit, Fort Sill, Okla.
First Lt. Brian D. Slavenas, 30, of Genoa, Ill. Assigned to F Company, 106th Aviation Battalion, Army National Guard, Peoria, Ill.
Chief Warrant Officer Bruce A. Smith, 41, of West Liberty, Iowa. Assigned to Detachment 1, Company F, 106th Aviation Battalion, Army National Guard, Davenport, Iowa.
Staff Sgt. Paul A. Velazquez, 29, of San Diego. Assigned to 2nd Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, Fort Sill, Okla.
Spc. Frances M. Vega, 20, of Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. Assigned to the 151st Adjutant General Postal Detachment 3, Fort Hood, Texas.
Staff Sgt. Joe N. Wilson, 30, of Crystal Springs, Miss. Assigned to 2nd Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, Fort Sill, Okla.

U.S. Army troops search the site where a Chinook helicopter crashed into a field near the restive town of Falluja on Sunday, 2 November 2003. Guerrillas shot down the U.S. Chinook helicopter as it flew toward Baghdad airport.
Witnesses said they saw two missiles fired at the heavy transport copter, the biggest U.S. target yet shot from the skies by Iraq’s insurgents. It had been ferrying soldiers to Baghdad International Airport for flights out of the country for rest and relaxation.
The aircraft was hit at about 9 a.m. (06:00 GMT) and crashed amid corn fields near the village of Hasi, about 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Baghdad and 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Fallujah, a center of Sunni Muslim resistance to the U.S. occupation.
The missiles apparently flashed toward the helicopter from behind, as usual with heat-seeking missiles such as the Russian-made SA-7. The old Iraqi army had a large inventory of SA-7s, also known as the “Strela” shoulder fired missile.
Villagers said the copters took off from the air base at Habbaniyah, about 10 miles northwest of the crash site. At the scene, villager Thaer Ali, 21, said someone fired two missiles from the area of a date palm grove about 500 yards from where the stricken copter crashed.

“I saw two helicopters coming from (the US military airport in) Habbaniyah. Two missiles were fired; one of them missed one of the helicopters and the other hit the tail of the other aircraft,” said taxi-driver Rauf Suleiman Abed, 35.

Farmer Mohamad al-Issawi told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) that “a projectile struck the tail of the helicopter at around 9:00 am. I saw fire coming out of the front of the aircraft which then crashed.” Issawi said the owner of the land where the helicopter crashed “fled the area with his family of some 15 people, immediately after the explosion.” “Human remains were found 500 yards away,” he said.

Witnesses said the second copter hovered over the downed craft for some minutes and then set down, apparently to try to help extinguish a fire. The downed copter was already destroyed. At least a half-dozen Black Hawk helicopters later hovered over the area, and dozens of soldiers swarmed over the site.
Fort Carson, Colorado, officials confirmed at least some of their own were injured in the crash, but would not give an exact number or confirm whether any from the post were among the dead until all the relatives had been notified, said Lt. Col. Thomas Budzyna.
On Monday, 3 November 2003, President Bush said that some of the best Americans have fallen in defense of freedom and liberty. “We mourn every loss. We honor every name. We grieve with every family. And we will always be grateful that liberty has found such brave defenders,” he said during a speech in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Army helicopter shot down apparently had a last-second warning of an approaching missile and managed to launch flares designed to draw the heat-seeking missile away, a senior Army official said Thursday.
It is not clear why the defensive moves did not work, but the official, who discussed the attack investigation on condition he not be identified, said U.S. officials believe the shooter simply got in a “lucky shot.”

This is Dawn’s husband. Dawn is a dear friend of mine and she did a tribute to her husband and the rest of the soldiers from the tragic day, November 2, 2003. I wanted to share this with you as you are getting to know her, she is the girl that helped me make the pinups for football.
Her husband is still on the mend and doing great. He just got his teeth this last month that had to be replaced. He has had many operations on various injuries he had.
Last week Dawn and Ray found out he might be going back to Iraq. They were not sure he would even be able to do anything at first, the injuries were so severe. It has taken this many years for the operations, healing and physical therapy etc. Not sure when but I am asking if you could please put both of them in your prayers.