GENTRY — A 1996 graduate of Siloam Springs High School and son of Gentry Schools librarian Elizabeth Newlun was one of 30 Americans killed in a military helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan on Friday.
Air Force Tech. Sgt. John W. Brown was killed in the overnight helicopter crash, said his stepfather, John Newlun.
Brown was part of a small Air Force pararescue team which went along with the Navy Seals 6 team in the helicopter, Newlun said.
The Associated Press reported insurgents shot down the Chinook transport helicopter Saturday that included Navy SEAL commandos from the broader unit that killed Osama bin Laden.
The helicopter, on a night-raid mission in the Tangi Valley of Wardakprovince, to the west of Kabul, was most likely brought down by a rocketpropelled grenade, a coalition official said.
Rep. Jon Woods, RSpringdale, said he and Brown graduated together in 1996. Woods moved to Siloam Springs in 1994.
The two met at basketball camp at John Brown University and quickly became friends.
“He always talked about how he wanted to serve his country,” Woods said. “We both wanted to serve our country. I went the political route. He went the military route.”
The two carpooled, went camping and watched “Saturday Night Live” together.
“We’d hang out to the wee hours of the morning,” Woods said.
Woods had not seen Brown in several years after school, but talked to him about six months ago.
“We just recently connected talking about family,” Woods said.
Brown’s mother Elizabeth Newlun, a librarian with Gentry Public Schools, posted on her Facebook page: “Thank you everyone for your prayers and words of comfort. I appreciate that people know that I lost a son today, my daughter-in-law Tabitha lost a husband and best friend, my sons lost a protective, caring and strong big brother, and you lost a brave soldier who gave everything for the country he loved.”
President Barack Obama offered his condolences to the families of the Americans and Afghans who died in the attack.
“Their death is a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifice made by the men and women of our military and their families,” Obama said.
President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan also offered his condolences to the victims’ families.
The Associate Press contributed to this report.
News, Pages 3 on 08/10/2011