Alaska Governor Palin Mourns Loss of Five Fort Wainwright Aviators

August 16, 2007, Juneau, Alaska – Alaska Governor Sarah Palin today expressed her condolences to the family and friends of five Fort Wainwright-based soldiers who died in Iraq on Tuesday.

Staff Sergeant Sean Fisher, Staff Sergeant Stanley Reynolds, Specialist Steven Jewell, Chief Warrant Officer Christopher Johnson, and Chief Warrant Officer Jackie McFarlane were killed August 14, 2007, in a CH-47 Chinook helicopter crash near Al Taqaddum Air Base, Iraq.

Staff Sergeant Fisher, 29, of Santee, California, was a flight engineer who joined the Army in June 2002 and was assigned to Fort Wainwright in February 2003.

Staff Sergeant Reynolds, 37, of Rock, West Virginia, was an aircraft power plant repairman who joined the Army in March 2002 and was assigned to Fort Wainwright in December 2002.

Specialist Jewell, 26, of, Bridgeton, North Carolina, was a CH-47 repairman who joined the Army in August 2005 and was assigned to Fort Wainwright in April 2006.

Chief Warrant Officer Johnson, 31, of Grandville, Michigan, was a CH-47 pilot who joined the Army in August 2004 and was assigned to Fort Wainwright in January 2006.

Chief Warrant Officer McFarlane, 30, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, was a CH-47 pilot who joined the Army in August 1994 and was assigned to Fort Wainwright in August 2006.

“Todd and I are saddened by the deaths of these fine men. We join Alaskans in offering our prayers and condolences to their families and friends,” Governor Palin said. “We are forever grateful for the service and sacrifice of our troops.”

The five aviators were assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, Task Force 49.

Governor Palin will fly state flags over the Capitol in honor of Fisher, Reynolds, Jewell, Johnson, and McFarlane and send them, along with letters of condolence, to their families.

Source: Alaska Governor

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