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Thursday, November 20, 2008

N.M. Native Killed in Crash in Iraq


Journal Staff Report
       Chief Warrant Officer Christian P. Humphreys,, who grew up in Alamogordo, was one of two Army pilots killed Saturday when their OH-58 Kiowa helicopter crashed near Mosul, Iraq.
    Humphreys, 28, died after the helicopter struck guy wires or power lines near a communications tower shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday and crashed near the northern Iraqi city, according to The Associated Press and Army reports.
    Humphreys, whose home is listed as Fallon, Nev., by the military, graduated from Alamogordo High School in 1998. According to the AP, Humphreys' wife, Christina, and his parents live in Alamogordo.
    Attempts by the Journal to reach family members by phone Wednesday were unsuccessful.
    Also killed in the crash was Chief Warrant Officer Donald V. Clark, 37, of Memphis, Tenn. Both pilots were assigned to the 6th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, Task Force 49, U.S. Army Alaska based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, according to the Pentagon.
    "The incident appears to be combat-unrelated, and there was no enemy contact in the area," an Army official said in a statement to the AP. Army officials did not disclose which of the two pilots was flying the helicopter at the time of the crash.
    The OH-58 Kiowa is a two-seat, single-rotor, armed reconnaissance helicopter.
    Humphreys was a Navy Search and Rescue helicopter crew member working out of Fallon Naval Air Station in Nevada before switching to the Army in May 2006 to become a helicopter pilot.
    After completing flight training at Fort Rucker, Ala., Humphreys was assigned to Fort Wainwright, near Fairbanks, in April 2008.
    Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons ordered flags on state buildings be flown at half-staff Wednesday in Humphreys' honor.
    Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Schmidt, who knew
    Humphreys during the time he was assigned at Fallon Naval Air Station, told the Lahontan Valley News in Fallon that Humphreys was "a funny guy, a nice guy, a lot of character."
    "Some of the guys here still remember him," Schmidt said earlier this week. "The guy was always entertaining, always had something to say, but like everyone here, he displayed the professionalism in saving lives."
    Schmidt said he wasn't surprised when Humphreys left the Navy and joined the Army.
    "This is one guy who loved to fly," Schmidt said. "He wanted to fly in the front seat."
    Humphreys is the 46th service member from, or with close ties, to New Mexico to die in the Middle East since March 2003.