My first Hero Mission was at the tail end of my progression. As we were landing at the hospital pad in Washington (downtown Baghdad) to pick up the KIA (killed in action) soldier, I wasn't sure what to expect. The FI, the other crew chief and I all got out of the helicopter and stood at attention waiting for them to bring the soldier out. Once the medical crew had verified it was okay to approach, they proceeded forward with the stretcher that had an American flag draped over it, which covered the black body bag that was underneath. As they proceeded closer, the rotor wash from the helicopter started blowing the flag around and the body bag became visible. The medical crew worked diligently to try to keep the flag in place.
As they approached the aircraft, the other crew members and I saluted as the stretcher was moved in front of us. We helped the medical personnel place the soldier in the aircraft and get him properly secured. My hands were shaking, I tried to steady them, but it wasn't working. As we made the flight from Washington to BIAP (Baghdad International Airport) for the soldier to be transitioned to be taken back to the States, the only sound you would hear was the sound of the helicopter blades.
When we took off from BIAP and were heading back to Taji for the end of our missions, little was said. Although normally, there is chatter going on between the crew to try to keep things a little lighter, this wasn't the time. Even though we had already provided the transport for the soldier, we each now carried a weight with us, as we knew that somewhere on the other side of the world there was a family that was being notified that their soldier had been killed.
After landing and shut down, we went through our typical post flight and closing out of the flight. I had been fighting back tears the whole time, there was an overflow of emotions I was feeling, but I was trying to 'appear' like things didn't affect me because I was still the only female door gunner in our brigade and working around all guys - that appearance of strength was a necessity.
Before I headed 'home' for the night, the FI stopped me and wanted to talk for a few minutes. He wanted to check on me after the Hero Mission. He then enlightened me to his thoughts - no matter how much any of these guys act like those kind of missions don't affect them, don't believe it for one minute. He told me that many of them held things in until they got back to their room at night or until they could find a quiet place and reflect on it alone. The bottom line - having the honor of transporting a soldier that has was KIA is beyond words. That even flying hundreds of hours during a deployment and feeling like each day was just a repeat of the next and how all the missions blurred together and there wasn't much of a memory of whether you did a mission the day or the week before- every detail of every Hero Mission had stuck and been clear as day.
Throughout the rest of the deployment, I had the honor of being on the crew for six other Hero Missions, each one unique and each one permanently etched in my mind. I can only imagine what goes through the mind of a family member after they have been notified of their service members death, but I would imagine that knowing they are handled with the utmost respect on their journey home would be one of them. If I could reach out to those soldier's families, I would tell them that although we never knew their soldier and we carried them a very short period on a flight, that in each one of ours hearts and minds we forever carry them.
Two crews from 25th Infantry Division salute the fallen soldiers they transported
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