SHUBUTA, Mississippi (AP) — The Department of Defense says a Mississippi soldier is among six soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan.
Officials said Thursday that five U.S. soldiers based at Fort Riley, Kan., and one based in Europe died on Tuesday from injuries they sustained in the crash. One soldier survived the crash.
Among those killed were 22-year-old Spc. Terry K.D. Gordon of Shubuta. Gordon was based at Fort Riley.
The four other Fort Riley soldiers were identified as Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joshua Silverman of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Chief Warrant Officer Randy L. Billings of Heavener, Okla.; Sgt. Peter Bohler of Willow Spring, N.C.; and Sgt. 1st Class Omar Forde of Marietta, Ga.
A sixth soldier, based in Vilseck, Germany, was identified as Staff Sgt. Jesse Williams of Elkhart, Ind.
The Army said the soldiers died when their Black Hawk UH-60 went down Tuesday during a mission in Zabul.
Quitman High School Principal Michael McDonald described Gordon, a 2011 graduate of the school, as a “great kid” in an interview with The Meridian Star.
“His leadership and confidence was clearly evident,” McDonald said. “He just oozed confidence and he was dependable and well respected among the students here.”
McDonald said Gordon was a member of the high school’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps for four years.
“He was just one of those young men who you would notice for the way he carried himself,” the principal said.
Gordon was the fifth Clarke County resident to die in military service since Sept. 11, 2011, Quitman Mayor Eddie Fulton told WTOK-TV.
“Whatever that we can do, we’re going to do to try to bring them comfort, try to let them know how much we understand their loss,” Fulton said of Gordon’s family.
