Attack on helicopter hits Fort Carson hard; one victim was headed home for mother's funeral
CINDY BROVSKY
Associated Press
FORT CARSON, Colo. - Fort Carson, already hit hard by the conflict in Iraq, suffered its single heaviest combat loss since the Vietnam War with the deaths of four soldiers aboard a helicopter shot down near the Euphrates River.
Many of the victims of Sunday's attack were headed out of the country for R&R or emergency leave. One, Fort Carson-based Sgt. Ernest Bucklew, 33, had been on his way home to attend his mother's funeral in Pennsylvania.
"Even on your worst day, he knew how to make you laugh," his wife, Barbara Bucklew, said through tears Monday. "That had to be his best quality."
In all, 16 U.S. troops died and 20 were wounded, including 13 from Fort Carson, in the deadliest single strike against U.S. forces since the invasion of Iraq in March. The military confirmed some of the casualties were from Fort Carson, Fort Campbell, Ky., and Fort Hood, Texas.
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Lt. Col. Tony Aguto, executive officer with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, told the Colorado Springs Gazette, "We are all just kind of reeling for the moment."
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