A Schofield Barracks Black Hawk helicopter crashed Thursday in southern Afghanistan, and at least some of the seven Americans onboard who were killed were out of Hawaii, sources said.
In addition to the Americans, four Afghans were killed.
Lt. Col. Derrick W. Cheng, a Schofield Barracks spokesman, said he could not confirm that the helicopter or crew was out of Hawaii.
"At this time I can’t release any of the information," Cheng said. "We’re still awaiting the formal (family) notification process."
U.S. officials said three of the seven American troops killed were special operations forces — two Navy SEALs and a Navy explosives expert. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the information.
The isle-based soldiers aboard would have been part of the four-member helicopter crew.
The Lake County, Calif., Record-Bee identified one of the dead soldiers as Richard Essex, 23, a helicopter gunner from Kelseyville, Calif.
Mayme Dyslin, Essex’s aunt, told the Lake County News in California that her nephew was a "laid-back kid" who never caused problems.
"He was just a free spirit," she said.
The soldier played the bass guitar and was an artist and a published poet, Dyslin told the newspaper.
"He said he was doing good and he would be home in November," she said.
The Michigan Live media group, meanwhile, reported family members saying that West Michigan native and Navy SEAL David "Davey" John Warsen, 27, was among those killed during the special operations mission.
Harold Voorhees, Warsen’s uncle, told the publication that Warsen "was just a beautiful guy" and a "very upbeat person."
Warsen was planning to marry his fiancee, Karlyn Deveau, on Dec. 9.
"He was just so proud of being a Navy SEAL. He worked so hard at it," Voorhees told Michigan Live.
NATO forces said they could not confirm what caused Thursday’s crash and stressed that it was still being investigated. The Black Hawk was operating in support of an ongoing assault on the ground, but initial indications were that it was not shot down, according to U.S. officials who spoke anonymously because the investigation was continuing.
About 2,600 Hawaii soldiers with the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, which includes Black Hawk helicopters, are in southern Afghanistan on a yearlong deployment. The brigade is based at Wheeler Army Airfield, part of Schofield Barracks, headquarters of the 25th Infantry Division.
In April four Schofield soldiers, among them Waipahu native Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Don C. Viray, 25, were killed in a Black Hawk helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan.
Sherry Viray, Viray’s sister, said on an online memorial for her brother, "We wish to extend our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the most recent helicopter fatality in Afghanistan (also from Don’s unit) that killed seven American soldiers today. We understand your pain."
Col. Frank Tate, commander of the brigade, headquartered at Kandahar Airfield, recently was back in Hawaii on leave and said the unit was halfway through its deployment.
The brigade’s helicopters were flying 3,500 hours a week — 3,000 hours a month more than the helicopter unit it replaced, Tate said.
The unit deployed with about 95 Chinook, Black Hawk and Kiowa helicopters from Wheeler. Tate said flying missions include troop complements that are at least 50 percent Afghan forces. His helicopters would fly U.S. and Afghan special operations forces nightly, he said.
The Kandahar provincial government said the helicopter was shot down in Shah Wali Kot district, a rural area north of Kandahar city where insurgents move freely and regularly launch attacks.
The crash killed all of those aboard: seven U.S. troops, three members of the Afghan security forces and a civilian Afghan interpreter, said Jamie Graybeal, a coalition spokesman.
The U.S.-led NATO force in Afghanistan has relied heavily on utility helicopters such as the Black Hawk to ferry troops, dignitaries and supplies around the mountainous terrain, thus avoiding the threat of ambushes and roadside bombs.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said insurgent fighters shot down the helicopter.
"Nobody survived this," Ahmadi told The Associated Press by phone.
Thursday’s crash is the deadliest since a Turkish helicopter crashed into a house near the Afghan capital, Kabul, on March 16, killing 12 Turkish soldiers onboard and four Afghan civilians on the ground, officials said.
In August 2011 insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter, killing 30 American troops, mostly elite Navy SEALs, in Afghanistan’s central Wardak province.
At least 26 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan so far this month, and at least 219 so far this year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
