Perspective: Copter crash victims represented a cross-section of the U.S. Army

Darryl Booker, a 38-year-old father of five, was one of 12 killed Saturday when the Black Hawk helicopter they were flying was downed on Saturday.

The dozen servicemembers killed in Saturday’s Black Hawk crash — and identified late Wednesday by the Pentagon — came from across the ranks of the Army, both active and reserve. They were high-ranking officers, senior enlisted leaders and well-regarded junior soldiers, with a diverse set of jobs and responsibilities.

All were killed when their helicopter went down near Baghdad. Military officials said an insurgent using a shoulder-fired missile might have shot it down.

Among the casualties was the first woman to become a command sergeant major in the Iowa Army National Guard. Command Sgt. Maj. Marilyn L. Gabbard, 46, of Polk City, Iowa, was assigned to Joint Forces Headquarters, Iowa Army National Guard at Camp Dodge.

Some 80 soldiers gathered at an emotional news conference at Camp Dodge where Gabbard’s death was announced.

“In her particular case it was not so much a case of rank but who she was,” Lt. Col. Gregory Hapgood, a Guard spokesman, said. “If you look around the room she has touched so many people in this organization.”

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