Died: February 10, 2010 in Kosovo
Sgt. Terry Rishling of Fargo, North Dakota enlisted in the Guard on July 13, 2001, joining C Company, 141st Engineer Combat Battalion in Bismarck. In September 2005, he joined the Headquarters Company of the 141st in Valley City. He transferred to A Company 231st Brigade Support Battalion in September 2006. Outside of the military, his job for the past three years was at the Fargo office of Jet-Way, which does industrial cleaning of agricultural facilities. He was expected to return home in August 2010. Terry was serving in Kosovo with the Army National Guard on peacekeeping duty. He was deployed to Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo with the Multi-National Battle Group-East. Terry was trained as a combat engineer and a petroleum supply specialist. He was a team leader in the third platoon of A Company, 231st Maneuver Task Force, a unit based in Valley City, N.D. A lot of younger guys really looked up to him, and he was always willing to take the extra time and give them a hand. He died at age 38 of natural causes. He is survived by his wife, Nancy and daughters, Sophie and Courtney, and his parents, John and Gloria Rishling. He was 38.
Born Feb. 3, 1978 in Columbia, TN
Died Feb. 3, 2010 near Mannheim, Germany
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Clayton M. Hickman
In the early part of his life, Clayton was very active in the scouts and little league baseball. In middle school he began his involvement with school band, which took him on a trip to march in the Independence Day Parade in Washington, D.C. Another school trip took him to by airplane to Arizona to march in the Fiesta Bowl, and it was this trip that left an impact on his life. It had been his very first airplane ride and he decided he wanted to fly. He began working at Maury County Tennessee Airport mowing grass to earn time to learn to fly fixed wing aircraft. In December 1996, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and over the nine years he served he was stationed in Japan, South Korea and Thailand before coming back to the States. His last duty station was in Jacksonville, Florida. During this time, he worked part time with Herlong Airport where he was continuing to pursue his fixed wing certification. He left the Marines as a Sergeant and had a brief absence from military duty before joining the United States Army and going to Warrant Officer’s Planning School in 2007 and becoming a Warrant Officer 1 so he could learn to fly helicopters and was stationed in Fort Rucker, Alabama. Upon graduation in 2009, he was then assigned to serve a three year stint in Stuttgart Germany arriving August 2009, assigned to G Company, 52nd Regiment; 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment; 12th Combat Aviation Brigade based in Stuttgart. Clayton was one of three U.S. Soldiers who were killed when a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed northeast of Mannheim, Germany on February 3, 2010. Clayton died on his 32nd birthday. His dream after retiring from military service was to pursue a job flying with the Vanderbilt Lifeflight team.
Born: September 3, 1982 in Lewistown, Pennsylvania
Died: July 21, 2008 in Guam
1st Lt. Joshua D. Shepherd of Lewistown, Pennsylvania was a 2001 graduate of Lewistown Area High School and was an Air Force ROTC cadet at Penn State and a journalism major who minored in history and military studies graduating in 2005. He was a member of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lewistown and a member of the Lewistown Moose Lodge. He was serving as a navigator on the unarmed Air Force Bomber that crashed as it was making a swing around the island from Andersen Air Force Base for a celebratory fly-over as part of Guam Liberation Day celebrations. The holiday marks the arrival of the U.S. military arrived to retake the island from Japan. Joshua was a navigator with over 500 flying hours qualified in T-43 and B-52H aircraft. His awards include the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal and Global War On Terrorism Service Medal. He was on of six victims of the B-52 crash near the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. He was 26. He is survived by his wife and two sons, ages 5 and 5 months. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Harold W. Shepherd.
Burial is at Juniata Memorial Cemetery in Lewistown, Pennsylvania
Born: November 8, 1976 in San Antonio, Texas
Died: July 21, 2008 in Guam
Capt. Michael K. Dodson grew up in San Antonio. He had wanted to fly planes since he was 12. So he got in the Civil Air Patrol and worked through the summers to put himself through the program. By the time he went to college, he had clocked 400 commercial flying hours. He earned a bachelor of art degree in electrical engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. But Michael didn’t want to be a navigator forever. He wanted to fly instead. In 2005, he participated in the Euro-Nato Joint Jet Pilot Training program in Wichita Falls, Texas. He was one of 15 out of a more than 300 applicant pool to undergo the international training. Michael had spent five years at Pope Air Force Base as navigator on C-130 cargo airplanes and then was selected for pilot training. He planned to return to C-130s but ended up in B-52s instead. Capt Dodson was a Pilot and Navigator with 2,121 hours of flying time including 293 combat hours. His awards include the Air Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Air Force Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster. He and his wife planned to return to Fayetteville, North Carolina after he completed military service. Michael was on of six victims of the B-52 crash near the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. He was 31.
Burial is at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas -Sec MA3 Site 55
Born: April 2, 1974
Died: March 31, 2005 in Albania
Capt. Surender Kothakota of Fayetteville, North Carolina formerly of Tulsa, Oklahoma is the son of Sgt. Maj. Surender and Margret Schepers Kothakota. He was a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, where he was active in ROTC. He spent several summers in Tulsa. His parents were currently stationed in Germany. He is the grandson of Ruth Schepers of Tulsa. Surrender and eight others died when a military C-130 airplane crashed in a mountainous area during a joint exercise. He was 30 years old. The Air Force captain was assigned to the 7th Special Operations Squadron based in Mildenhall, England.
Burial is at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia - Sec 60 Site 7959
Born: January 10, 1977
Died: November 8, 2007 in Italy
Capt. Cartize B. Durham of Bossier City, Louisianna was a 1995 graduate of Airline High School where he was a standout football player. In school he was also a member of ROTC and achieved the highest rank, commander of the cadets. It was during his freshman year he knew wanted to become an officer in the Air Force. As a student he stood out with his committment to excellence. Later he attended Louisiana Tech University earning his bachelor’s degree. Cartize had dreams of joining the service since he was a young boy. He wanted to serve his country as well as take care of his growing family. While stationed in Italy, he had the opportunity to meet Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley. The meeting was a proud moment his his military career. He was commander of a material management flight for the wing. He was 30. Also killed in the crash were Staff Sgt. Robert D. Rogers, Staff Sgt. Mark A. Spence and Senior Airman Kenneth P. Hauprich Jr., also assigned to the 31st Fighter Wing, and Army pilots Capt. Christian P. Skoglund and Chief Warrant Officer DavidAngelo F. Alvarez, both assigned to the 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment. Rose-Neath
Air Force
31st Fighter Wing
Aviano Air Base, Italy
Burial is at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Haughton, Louisiana
Born: June 24, 1972 in Park Ridge, Illinois
Died: March 31, 2005 in Albania
Capt. James S. Cronin of Elk Grove Village, Illinois graduated from Elk Grove High School in 1991 and joined the Air Force out of college. At a very young age, James dream of serving in the military. That goal was born out of his love for airplanes. At first he wanted to be an astronaut, but in time decided that a more suitable ambition was to be a pilot in the United States Air Force. In 1992, just a year out of high school, James left his home to enlist. He completed officers training and was commissioned to the rank of captain in 1998. James served a total of 12 years in the Air Force, and was involved in the training of NATO Air Force Pilots. He is the recipient of the Meritorious Service metal from President Bush. At the time of his death, he was assigned to the 7th Special Operations Squadron, based at Royal Air Force Station Mildenhall in England. He was one of nine crewmembers flying a night training mission in Albania when the plane crashed. He is survived by his parents, James E.T. Cronin and Roxanne Galli, brother of Christopher; grandson of Virginia and the late Del De La Rosa, and Dorothy and the late Thomas Cronin. James was 32.
Burial is at All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois
Born: March 30, 1973 in Phoenix, Arizona
Died: March 31, 2005 in Albania
Staff Sgt Patrick R Pentico was known to his family and friends as, “Tico.” He was born the son of Glen K. and Susie Ryan Pentico. Growing up in Hanksville, Utah he explored the mountains on his motorbike and had a fearless spirit about him. He attended Wayne High School where as a member of the wrestling team, he defeated opponents who outweighed him by 100 pounds. The team won the state title every year from 1988-92. Tico graduated in 1991. Tico was a happy person who lived life to the fullest. He loved all kinds of music, motorcycles, traveling, and water skiing at Hite on Lake Powell. On Mat 13, 2000 he married Melissa Dickey at her parents home in Orient, Washington. The couple had been living in England for more than three years while stationed at RAF Mildenhall, where he was a loadmaster on an MC130H Talon II cargo plane. Patrick was quite modest in many ways. In 2004, with one engine down and their plane heavily damaged by enemy fire, Patrick and his crew safely landed a C-130. All 58 people on board survived. But he never bragged about his accomplishments. The Airlift/Tanker Association awarded Patrick and his crew the Gen. P.K. Carlton Award for Valor for safely landing a battle-damaged C-130. The plane was transporting special operations forces during a mission in the opening days of Operation Iraqi Freedom when it received heavy enemy fire. During the mission, the plane took 19 hits from anti-aircraft artillery fire, one shell shattered the pilot’s windscreen. The plane landed with three of the four engines operating. Some of Patrick’s closest friends never knew he had received the award. He cared dearly for his many friends, family and the love of his life, Melissa. He is survived by his wife, Melissa Pentico, his parents, Susie and Kevin Hatch, and Glen Pentico, siblings, Parvonae, Cortney and Cole Pentico. He was preceded in death by his step-mother, Sherry Pentico, his grandparents, George and LaVaun Pentico; and Les Ryan and Marvel Ryan. Patrick died at age 32 while serving his country in the United States Air Force.
Air Force
352nd Special Ops Squadron
Royal Air Force base in Mildenhall, England
Burial is at Elgin Cemetery in Elgin, Utah
Born Feb. 21, 1980 in Germany
Died Nov. 8, 2007 in Aviano, Italy
Staff Sergeant Rogers was born in Ulm, Germany, the son of Anna and Robert Allen Rogers while his father was stationed there. The family moved to the United States when Robert was 3 months old, living first at Fort Huachuca Arizona and then Sierra Vista, Arizona. Robert attended Shiloh Christian School from kindergarten until his high school graduation, where he was named salutatorian in May 1998. As a child Robert loved to draw, assemble Lego airplanes and helicopters from memory. He would much rather read than watch movies. He helped his Mom keep house, cook, and do laundry — all skills that followed him to his adult life. Robert excelled at everything and especially loved mathematics. As a teenager he belonged to the Civil Air Patrol because of his love for planes and flying. He loved adventure and on his 18th birthday he skydived for the first time. He also loved repelling, rock climbing, white water rafting and was training for his scuba diving license. While in Sierra Vista he attended Cochise College and worked for Marriott Food Service and United Parcel Service. At the time of his death, he lacked only three credits from receiving the associate’s degree in avionics systems technology. He enlisted in the Air Force in 2001 attending basic training at Lackland Air Force Base and technical training at Sheppard Air Force Base, both in Texas. His assignments included Hill Air Force Base, Utah; Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea; and Aviano Air Base, Italy. He served in various positions within the Air Force Avionics community-including avionics sensors system team member, journeyman and team leader. Other awards were Avionics Flight NCO of the Quarter, July-September 2006; nominated for the 2007 Leo Marquez Award for Aircraft Maintenance; received the Air Force Commendation Medal for his service at Aviano Air Base. He was the 2005 Maintenance Professional of the Year and Lantirns top technician for the 31st Fighter Wing in Italy. He was never content to just tell you how to perform a task, instead he wanted to jump in and show you how it was done. He lived every day to the fullest and his infectious laugh and dry sense of humor lifted spirits daily. Robert was a devoted, “super daddy” and the “best dad ever” to his 5-year-old son, Isaiah Sky Rogers, the center of his life, who lived with him in Italy. He is survived by his mother, Anna (Dan) Showalter; his father, Robert Allen (Carol) Rogers; brother Karl Rogers. Lanea Rogers, his wife, also survives him, as well as many relatives in Germany and Washington state. Robert was killed while serving as the team leader for an avionic sensor team when a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training exercise near Aviano Air Base in Italy. He was buried at Southern Arizona Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery.
Born May 15, 1976 in San Jose, CA
Died Nov. 8, 2007 in Aviano, Italy
David moved to Lathrop California at the age of four years. Meticulous in his studies, he earned straight A’s and never missed a day of school from kindergarten through high school. He enlisted in the United States Army after his 1994 graduation from East Union High School in Lathrop California. Stationed at several bases around the globe over his career, he married his wife Rachel two years ago. When he would come home to California on visits, he would bring gifts from the various places he had been to around the world. He also had fascinating stories to tell his family of the things he accomplished and the people he had met. David was a chief warrant officer 2 and was serving as the co-pilot of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter when it crashed during a training mission outside Aviano, Italy. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.