Ceremony remembers soldiers who died in helicopter crash

<p>As the 4-foot granite monument was unveiled from beneath a camouflage tarp, so was a year's worth of grief shared by the families of six soldiers who went down with "Storm 6."</p><p>Mark Smith knelt and kissed the marker, calling his brother's name. Destiny Pedersen, age 8, cried for her father. And Sue Boule clutched the blackened dog tags that belonged to her son.</p><p>Soldiers at Hunter Army Airfield gathered with family members of their fallen comrades Friday to mark the anniversary of the April 2, 2003, crash in central Iraq of a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, call sign "Storm 6."</p><p>All six soldiers on board were killed.</p><p>Lou and Sue Boule lost their son, 22-year-old Spc. Mathew G. Boule, in the crash. They traveled from their home in Dracut, Mass., to join other families for the anniversary _ in part because they didn't want to spend the day alone.</p><p>"It is good. But it does stir up a lot of emotions," Lou Boule said. "It's tough. Unless you've lost a child, you have no clue."</p><p>The monument was placed among live oak trees outside the headquarters of the 3rd Infantry Division's 4th Brigade, the division's attack helicopter unit.</p><p>All six soldiers' names are engraved on one side: Boule; Captain James F. Adamouski, 29, of Springfield, Va.; Chief Warrant Officer Erik A. Halvorsen, 40, of Bennington, Vt.; Chief Warrant Officer Scott Jamar, 32, of Granbury, Texas; Chief Warrant Officer Eric A. Smith, 41, of California; and Sgt. Michael F. Pedersen, 26, of Flint, Mich.</p><p>"It's nice to see that they haven't been forgotten," said Chanel Pedersen, Michael Pedersen's widow. "Someone told me: United we stand, together we'll remember. And I'm grateful for that."</p><p>Pedersen said she's still coping with her husband's death, and trying to make sense of it to their 8-year-old daughter, Destiny.</p><p>"It's hard to explain to young kids _ small kids _ why daddy's not coming back. She doesn't get the concept of death," Pedersen said. "But as the days and months go by, she's getting better."</p><p>Though initial reports said the Blackhawk was shot down, the Army later concluded the cause was accidental. The helicopter's four-man crew was transporting two pilots when it crashed on a sandbar at the edge of the Karbala Lake.</p><p>The Blackhawk's pilots, flying at night, apparently became disoriented and lost control, said Col. Curtis D. Potts, the brigade commander.</p><p>Potts personally flew to the wreckage to help recover the bodies. He's also the one who insisted on a memorial ceremony to mark the anniversary.</p><p>"It's closure for the soldiers, closure for the families," Potts said. "The thing about the Army is it's one big family that takes care of each other."</p><p>After the monument unveiling, Spc. Ian McCarthy strummed his guitar and Chief Warrant Officer Bradley McGarvey sang "Soldier After All" _ a song they wrote in Kuwait last year in anticipation of the war.</p><p>Their six fellow soldiers had heard the song before they died. McCarthy and McGarvey wanted their families to hear it too.</p><p>"Sacrifices are what we do, in the name of God and the red, white and blue," McGarvey sang. "I stand proud and I stand tall. 'Cause I'm a soldier, a soldier after all."</p>

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