Still in the middle of the storm

Just wanted to post an update for all of our loved ones, being that Nick and I have "fallen off the face of the earth" for the last week and a half.

Last Wednesday, August 19th, Nick flew commercially to Colorado for the purpose of coordinating the return flight of four Nightstalker helicopters and numerous pilots and crew members back to Fort Campbell. When he checked his phone on his layover in Dallas, he learned that one of his company's helicopters had crashed at Mount Massive in Leadville, Colorado, about 90 miles outside of Denver. As soon as he set foot in Colorado, he took off running. Nick, ran the command post on the mountain at the crash site, overseeing the investigation team as well as assisting the team recovering the remains of his four friends. There was also a team of his fellow Nightstalkers running a command center at the base of the mountain. This experience shook them all to the core, and they relied heavily on one another for support as they spent this time doing unimaginable tasks, and being away from their families. They were committed to making sure that their fallen brothers were never left alone and handled with the most care and respect.

On the home front, the 160th (the Special Operations Aviation Regiment that Nick is a member of) went into information lock-down. Fortunately, because I had briefly spoken with Nick after the time of the crash, I knew that he was safe. We were all panic-stricken here, as to who was on that flight--Nick's company is an incredibly tight-knit unit. On Thursday afternoon, the Family Readiness Group was asked to contact the spouses with the little information that we could share (the names had not yet been released as they were finishing the notification of kin process). Being that Nick is one of two Platoon Leaders in the company, I am responsible for calling the wives of all of the pilots in his Platoon. It was at this time that I learned that three of the men, CW4 Rob Johnson, Staff Sgt. Chad Tucker and Staff Sgt. Paul "PJ" Jackson were all a part of Nick's Platoon as these families were not to be called. It was the most heartbreaking moment I have ever experienced. Despite the fact that CW4 Terry Geer was in the other Platoon, Nick had spent countless hours working with and building a friendship with him...I learned of Terry's name when we completed our second call down on Friday night with the release of the names of the dead.

The work that Nick did on the mountain was tedious given the altitude, the terrain and weather conditions. It was a race against the clock to get his fallen soldiers off the mountain before the weather worsened...He tells me that he was humbled to experience the sheer willpower of the recovery crew who must hike up the mountain 1,500 vertical feet carrying heavy equipment to complete the mission, as it was impossible for the helicopters to land any closer to the crash site. Also among the heroes in this effort, was a group of youth who spend their summers living on the mountain and building hiking trails. They were the first responders to the crash, which they heard just minutes after watching the helicopter fly close enough for Chad (one of the crew chiefs) to wave to them. They called for help, administered CPR and held the hands of our fallen soldiers in their last minutes and for hours afterward until the emergency response teams were able to take over. It was a complete act of God that they happened to working at that point on the mountain, at that time, on that day. Because of them, our boys did not die alone.

Nick finished up his work on Mount Massive late Saturday night, and was on a plane homeward bound late Sunday afternoon. I met him at Randy and Carrie Gant's home, after they had finished a toast to their fallen brothers, only to give and receive the tightest hug we've ever shared. Since that point, everyone has been working feverishly to prepare to honor and celebrate the lives of these amazing husbands and fathers who, together, created the "dream team" of a helicopter crew.

Tuesday evening we joined CW4 Terry Geer's loving family and friends at a touching Memorial Service. What an amazing man he was...He and his wife, Gina's faith is truly inspirational and clearly the reason that Gina has remained so strong in coping with losing Terry.

Nick and I have collaborated with Randy and Carrie Gant to host the first response youth hiking team. They arrived early on Wednesday morning, and we honored them with a welcome brunch (and scrambled to gather dress clothes, as a number of them had been shopping at thrift stores looking for appropriate attire.) Andy Sacksteder (who arrived with his mommy, daddy and "Baby Sister" on Tuesday evening) provided comedic entertainment and gratitude kisses to our VIPs. :-) We escorted the first responders to the Memorial Service, where, for the first time, they were able to learn about the lives of the men that they cared for and comforted in their last moments. They also learned about the formality and sentimental symbolism that is a part of military ceremony. It was all so beautiful...At the gathering after the ceremony, everyone wanted to shake their hands--to include many of the high ranking military dignitaries that were in attendance. We capped off our marathon day with a social gathering at a local pub in town--it was exactly what everyone needed, to be able to relax and just spend time with one another remembering the good times.

After getting our first responder angels off to the airport yesterday, we finished up handing over the responsibility of our Operation Serve BBQ (we were committed to feeding 850 of our fellow church members to kick-off a huge community service project this coming Sunday) to our unbelievably supportive church group. We are so blessed to have such amazing friends looking out for us...

Last night we went to the airport for the CW4 Rob Johnson's return ceremony. We joined his widow, Sandie, and her family to honor Rob as he was taken from the plane to the hearse and transported by a long processional to the funeral home in Clarksville. It made everything seem so real...

Tonight we will honor Rob at his viewing and tomorrow we will celebrate his life at his funeral service. We leave tomorrow evening for Titusville, Florida for Chad's viewing and funeral ceremony and Nick will head to Pennsylvania later next week for PJ's viewing and funeral services. Needless to say, this has been an incredibly difficult week, particularly for the families, friends and and the Nightstalker family. Thank you all so much for your support and prayers for peace during this tragic storm that everyone is enduring