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Mankato servicemember killed in helicopter crash
Officials identified the five servicemembers killed in Saturday’s routine flight training crash, including Mankato native Cade Wolfe.
Officials identified on Monday five U.S. Army Special Operations aviation soldiers killed Saturday in a military helicopter crash in the Mediterranean Sea, including one Minnesota native.
The U.S. Department of Defense released that the crash happened during routine flight training and there is no indication of hostile actions.
The Department of Defense identified the victims as:
Sgt. Cade M. Wolfe, 24, of Mankato, Minnesota; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen R. Dwyer, 38, of Clarksville, Tennessee; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane M. Barnes, 34, of Sacramento, California; Staff Sgt. Tanner W. Grone, 26, of Gorham, New Hampshire; and Sgt. Andrew P. Southard, 27, of Apache Junction, Arizona.
Wolfe was a 2018 graduate of Mankato East High School. A local gym called Fitness for 10 chronicled his transformation from a smallish sophomore to a muscular senior preparing to embark on basic training on its Facebook page. On Sunday the site honored Cade and offered condolences to his family.
“Our hearts are shattered this morning to learn the news of long-time member Cade Wolfe’s passing while serving for his country. The ultimate sacrifice will not be forgotten and we will miss you, Cade,” the post read. “Cade brought so much joy and energy to all of us. Scott, Cooper and the rest of the Wolfe family, we hold you tight in our hearts. RIP Cade.”
The fallen soldiers were all highly decorated, with multiple combat deployments in addition to responding to deployments with no notice, sent overseas to respond quickly to various national security needs.
The Military Times says Wolfe enlisted in the Army in 2018 as a 15T UH-60 “Black Hawk” repairer and was assigned to the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii. After extended training Wolfe was assigned to 1st Battalion, 160th SOAR (Airborne) and served as an MH-60M crew chief.
His awards and decorations include two Army Commendation Medals, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, and the Basic Aviation Badge.
It is with a heavy heart that we announce the loss of five incredible teammates who were killed when their helicopter…
Posted by U.S. Army Special Operations Command on Monday, November 13, 2023
The official release said the helicopter, an MH-60 Blackhawk, experienced an in-flight emergency during routine “aerial refueling” training, which caused it to go down.
The military’s European Command said all five crew members on board were killed when the aircraft crashed “during a routine air refueling mission as part of military training.”
Following the Monday release, Wolfe’s name was seen across Facebook posts as friends and community members grieved.
“Our hearts are shattered this morning to learn the news of longtime member Cade Wold’e passing,” Fitness for 10 – Mankato posted. “Cade brought so much joy and energy to all of us.”
The commander of the Army Special Operations Command, Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, said the fallen soldiers “hail from rare patriotic families with deep military service ties that span multiple generations and formations.”
“This is devastating news that reverberates across the entire Special Operations community. Every loss is tough, but in this case, service to the nation is truly a family business and it’s hard to express the amount of sorrow that we all feel right now,” Lt. Gen. Braga said via the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Facebook page. “Our thoughts and prayers are with their families, their loved ones, and their fellow soldiers. Like the Special Operations community always does, we will wrap our arms around them, grieve with them, and promise to never forget them.”
The military announced the crash on Saturday and later said via Associated Press that search and rescue efforts had begun.
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