Sean E. Lyerly killed in helicopter crash

WASHINGTON -- One Texan was among 12 soldiers killed in the crash of a military helicopter in Iraq.

The Defense Department announced the victims included 31-year-old Captain Sean Edward Lyerly of Pflugerville. Lyerly was assigned to the Texas Army National Guard's 36th Combat Aviation Brigade, 36th Infantry Division in Austin.

The Army Black Hawk helicopter went down Jan. 20 northeast of Baghdad. Lyerly was the pilot on a UH-60 Black Hawk.

The U.S. military in Baghdad has refused to confirm a report by a Pentagon official that debris at the crash site indicated the helicopter was shot down by a surface-to-air missile.

Lyerly entered military service as a private in the Texas Army National Guard in 1996. He graduated from Stratford High School in Houston in 1994 and earned a bachelor of science degree in horticulture from Texas A&M University in May 2000.

Lyerly was ordered to active duty in Feb, 2006 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 36th Combat Aviation Brigade spent six months at Fort Hood before heading to Iraq in August 2006. Its assigned mission was to provide aviation support and security throughout the combat zone.

Lyerly flew on numerous missions in support of OIF. His awards and decorations include the Army Aviator Badge, Army Service Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star, Reserve Components Achievement Medal with M Device, Army Achievement Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster and Army Commendation Medal, and he is being recommended for posthumous award of the Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal with V Device for his selfless service and acts of heroism and valor.

Lyerly is survived by his wife, Csilla, and their son, Zackary, 3, of Pflugerville; father, George Lyerly of Bryan, Texas; and mother, Deborah Russo-Blakeman of Houston.

From News 8