<H1>Crash of military helicopter in Mideast killed four Texas Army National Guard soldiers

Star-Telegram
By CHRIS VAUGHN

The deaths of four Texas Army National Guard soldiers in what appeared to be a helicopter accident last week marked the deadliest day in years for the state’s citizen-soldiers.
Among those killed was a sergeant from Springtown, a soldier from Kennedale and a first sergeant from San Antonio. Three National Guardsmen from Oklahoma also died in the accident, which occurred at midnight Thursday as their CH-47 Chinook flew from Kuwait into Iraq.
Military authorities said there was no indication of enemy fire.
The Defense Department had still not released the names of the seven men by Saturday evening, but word was leaking out into communities anyway.
The family of Sgt. Anthony Luke Mason, 37, of Springtown confirmed that he was a casualty. The Oklahoman newspaper and the Kennedale school district confirmed the death of Warrant Officer Corry Edwards, 38, of Kennedale. The San Antonio Express-News identified another casualty as 1st Sgt. Julio Ordonez, a 30-year veteran of the Guard from San Antonio.
The Oklahoman also identified as casualties Sgt. Dan Eshbaugh, 43, of Norman; Cpl. Michael Thompson, 23, of Kingston; and Warrant Officer Brady Rudolf, 37, of Moore.
All of the men were serving with the 2nd Battalion, 149th Aviation Regiment, a 600-person unit based in Grand Prairie. That unit and its 32 helicopters deployed to Iraq in late August and operates out of the Balad area.
Mason worked full time for the National Guard unit. He joined the Guard about 12 years ago as a mechanic. He became part of the flight crew a few years ago as an additional challenge.
It was Mason’s second deployment to Iraq.
"He represented his country well," his mother-in-law, Shirley Stroud, said. "He believed in his country."
A native of Azle, Mason enjoyed fishing, bowling and hunting deer on a lease near Graham. But his family said he most loved spending time with his daughters — a 13-year-old, twin 8-year-olds and a 4-year-old — in their sports and cheerleading.
The coming months will be very hard on his family — their birthdays are in September, October and November.
"He was a very hands-on dad," Stroud said. "They’ll have a lot of great memories."
Edwards’ family declined to comment Saturday.


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