APACHE JUNCTION, AZ — The Department of Defense says a soldier from Arizona was one of five killed in a helicopter crash late last week.
A military aircraft crashed over the eastern Mediterranean Sea on Friday evening, U.S. European Command said Sunday. EUCOM said all five crew members were killed when it went down “during a routine air refueling mission as part of military training.”
DOD officials say, "there are no indications the crash was caused by enemy / hostile actions."
The commander of the Army Special Operations Command, Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, said the fallen soldiers “hail from rare patriotic families with deep military service ties that span multiple generations and formations.”
“This is devastating news that reverberates across the entire Special Operations community," Braga said on Monday in a statement. "Every loss is tough, but in this case, service to the Nation is truly a family business and it’s hard to express the amount of sorrow that we all feel right now."
The fallen soldiers were highly decorated, with multiple combat deployments in addition to responding to deployments with no notice, sent overseas to respond quickly to various national security needs.
According to an announcement Monday morning, the victims of the crash were members of the United States Army:
- Sgt. Andrew P. Southard, 27, of Apache Junction, Arizona
- Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen R. Dwyer, 38 of Clarksville, Tennessee
- Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane M. Barnes, 34, of Sacramento, California
- Staff Sgt. Tanner W. Grone, 26, of Gorham, New Hampshire
- Sgt. Cade M. Wolfe, 24, of Mankato, Minnesota
Southard enlisted in the Army in 2015 as a UH-60 repairer and served as an MH-60M crew chief. He was first assigned to Fort Bliss, Texas, upon completing advanced individual training, and he completed a 13-month rotation to Task Force Sinai in support of ongoing peacekeeping operations. He deployed to Afghanistan and was awarded two Army Commendation medals and an Army Achievement medal among other citations.
Southard’s friends describe him as a selfless person, who would always help others whenever they’re in need.
In a publicly posted military video in 2019, Southard said he joined the military because he wanted to be “a part of something bigger than myself.”
Chance Schick went through basic training with Southard and knows he has friends all over the world who are mourning his loss.
“It's a statement to really who he was, I mean, you ask anyone if they knew him for, you know, seven years or, you know, just seven days. You understood the type of person he was and how much he would be there for you, how much he would vest in you and expect nothing in return,” Schick said.
Southard’s father told ABC15 he had always wanted to be in special operations and worked hard to accomplish that.
His former math teacher from high school also spoke to Southard’s determination.
“He put his mind to something early on in high school, and he got there. And he did what he had to do to finish. He didn’t let anything stop him,” said Apache Junction High School math teacher Norman Hoefer.
Gunnar Elliott had known Southard since middle school, describing him as more of a brother than a friend. The two grew up together when Elliott moved to the Apache Junction area all those years ago. As kids, they goofed around a lot and have kept in touch since then.
“We talked last week. And my last words were, ‘Stay safe out there, man’. He said, ‘You too, brother,'” Elliott recalled.
He tells ABC15 it still doesn’t feel real, knowing his childhood friend is gone.
“We just love him so much and it‘s hard to see him go,” he said.
Southard leaves behind his wife and young children. Friends have set up a GoFundMe to help the family.
Apache Junction Mayor Chip Wilson issued the following statement regarding Southard's death:
"On behalf of our city council, the city of Apache Junction sends its condolences to the family of Sgt. Andrew Southard, who we have been informed, was one of the five servicepeople killed this weekend in a training exercise over the Mediterranean Sea and who is from our community, having attended Cactus Canyon Junior High and Apache Junction High School. Our thoughts are with the Southard family at this difficult time."
A dignified transfer was conducted overnight Monday into Tuesday:
