Army Staff Sgt. Tanner Grone of New Hampshire among 5 U.S. soldiers killed in helicopter crash
BOSTON - Army Staff Sgt. Tanner Grone of Gorham, New Hampshire was one of the five U.S. soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in the Mediterranean Sea, the Pentagon confirmed Monday.
The Defense Department said an "in-flight emergency" caused the MH-60 Blackhawk to crash during a refueling exercise Friday in the eastern part of the Mediterranean.
Grone was one of the five U.S. Army Special Operations aviation soldiers on board, according to the Pentagon. He was 26 years old.
He enlisted in 2017 as a Black Hawk repairer and went on to serve as a flight instructor and MH-60M Black Hawk crew chief, the Pentagon said.
"He deployed multiple times to Iraq, Afghanistan, and several no-notice deployments and exercises. His awards and decorations include the Air Medal with Combat device, Army Commendation Medal, and Army Achievement Medal with combat device," the Defense Department said.
The other four soldiers were identified as Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen Dwyer, 38 of Clarksville, Tennessee; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane Barnes, 34, of Sacramento, California; Sgt. Andrew Southard, 27, of Apache Junction, Arizona and 24-year-old Sgt. Cade Wolfe of Mankato, Minnesota.
"There are no indications the crash was caused by enemy / hostile actions," the Department of Defense said in a statement. The crash is still under investigation.
A U.S. official confirmed to CBS News the five soldiers were deployed to Cyprus in case an evacuation of Lebanon or Israel was ordered.
"We mourn the loss of these five incredible Soldiers, each of them a national treasure. They hail from rare patriotic families with deep military service ties that span multiple generations and formations," Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, commander of US Army Special Operations Command, said in a statement.
"Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of Staff Sgt. Grone and his four fellow soldiers who perished," New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu said in a statement. "Their bravery and devotion to this nation, and the protection of our freedoms, shall never be forgotten."
