Nevada Guard honors crew shot down in Afghanistan

A silhouette of a stationary Chinook helicopter making a soft-landing stretches across the afternoon horizon just south of the Army Aviation Support Facility at Stead.

The helicopter ferried troops and supplies more than a decade ago in Afghanistan. Now, the CH-47D Chinook serves as a reminder of the price of freedom. The repainted and refurbished display shows a Chinook with tail No. 200 in an aft-gear landing position. The helicopter was not with D Co. in 2005 but flown by the Nevada Army Guard’s Bravo Co., 1-189th General Support Aviation Battalion, during its 2012-13 deployment in Afghanistan.

The refurbished helicopter was permanently grounded after its Afghanistan service because of mechanical problems.

Mustang 22 was the original call sign for a Nevada Army National Guard’s Chinook.

On Sept. 25, 2005, a Taliban-fired rocket-propelled grenade ripped into the helicopter, sending it spiraling to the ground and killing five guardsmen near the Daychopabn district in southern Zabul. Three CH-47 Chinooks, two Blackhawks and two Comanche helicopters had lifted off earlier from Kandahar flying toward a neighboring province.

Killed were Chief Warrant Officer 2 John M. Flynn of Sparks and Sgt. Patrick Stewart of Fernley; Warrant Officer Adrian B. Stump and Sgt. Tane T. Baum, both of Pendleton, Ore.; and Sgt. Kenneth G. Ross of Peoria, Ariz.

A dedication was held Wednesday for the refurbished Chinook, which flew 27 months as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The original helicopter was shot down nine months after its unit, Co. D, 113th Aviation, left the Nevada Army Guard training center at Stead and deployed for two months of training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. After training, the unit left for Kandahar Air Field in southeastern Afghanistan.

In April, Kyle Pellett of Pellet Construction, Steve Stewart, retired Chief Warrant Officer Sean Laycox, Christie Pierce and Col. Matt Jonkey participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Mustang 22 static display and memorial.

Retired Col. Roger Capps, commander of the helicopter unit in Afghanistan 19 years ago, used Wednesday to thank guests for attending the ceremony and for the fellowship of connecting with one another. He also named the soldiers who died on that late September day.

“That’s the reason we’re here today,” he said, after reading the five names. “We have some family members who came down from Pendleton.”

Capps revealed how the idea for the original memorial occurred and pointed to a camping trip he and fellow guardsmen, Don Gable Jr., took after returning to Nevada. From the initial idea to the beginning of fundraising to receiving a nonprofit status, Capps said their fundraising assisted with the construction of the first memorial and dedication in 2015. No taxpayer funds were used on the static display project.

Maj. Gen. Ondra Berry, Nevada’s adjutant general, said no one cares more about a community than the National Guard.

“What we do in the military is dangerous,” he said. “We send people in harm’s way, but we cannot have the country we have unless people are willing to take an oath of sacrifice. This was not done in vain.

“We don’t want you to forget why we’re here today,” he said, adding “the least we can do is to keep their memory alive.”

Laycox provided historical information on the latest memorial’s construction. He described the static display performing an aft landing with the back wheels touching the ground first.

“That was the bread and butter of our landings when we couldn’t get all four (wheels) on the ground,” he said. “We did this landing a thousand times. It’s a pretty good landing, and that’s why we used it on the memorial.”

Pierce and Capps said they were pleased with the dedication.

“This is extremely important especially considering the state of our nation as it is right now,” said Pierce, who was accompanied by her son, now a graduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno, and her late husband's parents. “I think the values and the people who have given their lives and dedication to remember their families is outstanding.”

Pierce first saw the work being done on the Chinook when it was inside a hangar. She said Laycox was gracious in allowing her family to visit the Stead facility and learn of the plans for the Chinook display.

“We surround ourselves with other Americans who love our country and families who are dedicated to preserving our memory,” she added.

Capps said the Nevada Guard — past and present — is a tight community.

“The Nevada Guard is a very small organization,” he said, “and the Nevada Army Aviation is even smaller than that.”

Col. Matthew Jonkey, Nevada Guard State Army Aviation Officer, said the dedication is thanking the community for their continued support.

 “We want to thank everyone in the community who came together, fundraised, donated their time and resources to helping us put this Chinook on display as the final chapter of the Mustang 22 Memorial,” he said.