BOSTON—The Pentagon announced on Monday that Army Staff Sgt. Tanner Grone of Gorham, New Hampshire, was one of the five American soldiers slain in a helicopter crash in the Mediterranean Sea.
According to the Defense Department, the MH-60 Blackhawk crashed on Friday during a refueling exercise in the eastern Mediterranean due to a “in-flight emergency”.
According to the Pentagon, Grone was one of the five aviation soldiers from the U.S. Army Special Operations that were on board. His age was twenty-six.
According to the Pentagon, he joined in 2017 as a Black Hawk repairer and later served as an MH-60M Black Hawk crew chief and flight instructor.
“He made numerous no-notice deployments and exercises as well as multiple deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. The Air Medal with Combat Device, Army Commendation Medal, and Army Achievement Medal with combat device are among his honors and decorations, according to the Defense Department.
The other four soldiers were identified as Sgt. Andrew Southard, 27, of Apache Junction, Arizona; Sgt. Cade Wolfe, 24, of Mankato, Minnesota; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen Dwyer, 38, of Clarksville, Tennessee; and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane Barnes, 34, of Sacramento, California.
The Department of Defense released a statement saying, “There are no indications the crash was caused by enemy / hostile actions.” Investigations into the crash are still ongoing.
The five soldiers were sent to Cyprus in case Israel or Lebanon had to be evacuated, a U.S. official told News.
We are saddened by the passing of these five amazing soldiers, who were all treasures to our country. “They come from unique patriotic families with strong military ties spanning several generations and formations,” a statement from Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, the US Army Special Operations Command commander, read.
