Two Wisconsin soldiers, including one from Amherst, serving with the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq died Saturday in the crash of two Black Hawk helicopters.
Spc. Eugene A. Uhl III, 21, of Amherst and Sgt. Warren S. Hansen, 36, of Clintonville were identified by the Department of Defense as among the 17 soldiers killed in the crash in the northern city of Mosul.
Uhl's mother, Joan Uhl of Amherst, said the family received a phone call at 11 p.m. Saturday from an Army spokesman notifying them of their son's death.
"It's really unbearable," Uhl said. "He is not only Eugene the third ... he is the only son. Because of the Sullivan Act, he had to sign a waiver saying he would go to fight."
Uhl would have marked his 22nd birthday on Nov. 27, Thanksgiving Day. "Nothing special is planned here, not now," his mother said.
His mother said Uhl wrote a letter recently that only his father, Eugene Uhl Jr., was allowed to read. "It was just he had a bad feeling about what was going to happen," Joan Uhl said.
The Department of Defense identified five of the 17 killed on Saturday as Sgt. Michael D. Acklin II, 25, of Louisville, Ky.; Spc. Ryan T. Baker, 24, of Brown Mills, N.J.; Spc. William D. Dusenbery, 30, of Fairview Heights, Ill.; and Hansen and Uhl. The 12 remaining victims will be named pending notification of family, officials said.
A statement by the U.S. command said one helicopter was carrying a quick reaction force, and the other ferried soldiers on a transport mission in northern Iraq.
The statement did not give the cause of the crash, although some soldiers at the scene said at least one of the Black Hawks may have been hit by ground fire.
"The cause of the incidents are under investigation," the statement said. "We will not speculate on the cause of these crashes."
Witnesses said the two Black Hawks collided in mid-air and came down in a residential area of western Mosul.
Uhl had been in touch by e-mail with his parents and his fiancee, Emily Groshek, an Amherst resident attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The couple were planning a June 2004 wedding. She had received an e-mail message from him on Tuesday.
"He said he wanted to talk to me, and he loved me," Groshek said. "We had talked about stories that had happened to him, and he made me promise not to worry and not to be upset at stuff that would happen."
Uhl often talked about his experiences in the Army, and he planned to be a career soldier, Groshek said. "He was so determined to be the best at what he was doing," she said. "He went to great lengths to show that he was proud of his country and will do anything for it."
He was at the top of his basic training class at Fort Sill, Okla., Uhl's mother said. A 2000 graduate of Amherst High School, he had joined the Wisconsin National Guard in 1998 during his junior year. He also did his advanced training at Fort Sill, then in June 2002, went on active duty with the Army assigned to the 101st Airborne, the "Screaming Eagles." He left for the Middle East in February.
"He told me not to worry about him, he was made of steel," Joan Uhl said.
His grandfather served in World War II and the Korean War, and his father was wounded in Vietnam and received the Purple Heart.
Uhl is among about 40 people from the Amherst area serving with the U.S. military. A poster of the soldiers was compiled by Mary Ann Mangen, and 24 copies were put on display in the area in April. One of them is her son, 22-year-old Joachim R. Mangen, a member of the Wisconsin National Guard's 724th Engineer Battalion's Medford group.
"My son is down in the southern part at Nasaria, where they just had the bombing," said Mangen, Amherst. "I just talked to Joachim (Sunday) morning, and he said, 'Hey Mom, I just got a letter from Eugene.'"
She hasn't yet been able to tell him of Uhl's death, she said.
Another Amherst soldier, Spc. Terry Faivre, also is serving with the 101st Division. He and Uhl joined the Army together on the "buddy system."
"Terry is OK," said Joan Uhl, who talked with his mother, Diane Faivre of Amherst, on Sunday.
The deaths Saturday marked the largest single loss of life for the 101st Airborne Division since 1988, when 17 soldiers died in the collision of two Black Hawk helicopters during training. The 101st Division, based at Fort Campbell, Ky., has lost 53 soldiers in the Iraq war. Sixteen other soldiers from the special forces unit have been killed since Sept. 11, 2001, fighting in Afghanistan and the Philippines. The 20,000-plus strong 101st is not expected to return until February, one year after it left.
"I hope people realize now this is real," Mangen said. "I hope they take notice and start respecting these soldiers."
A military funeral of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Amherst High School gymnasium with military Chaplain Daniel Farley and the Rev. Robert Pedretti co-presiding. Internment with full military honors will be in Greenwood Cemetery, Amherst.
Friends may call from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the school, with a patriotic memorial service at 7 p.m. Visitation also will be from 9 a.m. until the time of services Wednesday at the school. Jungers-Holly Funeral Home of Amherst is assisting the family with arrangements.
He was born on Nov. 27, 1981, in Waupaca, a son of Eugene and Joan (Smith) Uhl Jr. Eugene joined the Army National Guard in 1999 and then joined the regular Army in June 2002. He was stationed in Iraq since February and was with the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery. Eugene graduated from Amherst High School in 2000. In high school he was active in track, cross country, basketball and the student council. He loved flower gardening, hunting, fishing, horseback riding and sports in general.
Survivors include his parents, Eugene and Joan Uhl Jr. of Amherst; three sisters, Cheryl (Marty) Andersen of Amherst, Charity Uhl of Nelsonville and Chastity Uhl of Amherst; his fiancee, Emily Groshek of Amherst; paternal grandmother, Mildred Uhl of Amherst; nieces and nephews, Alexander Wardall of Nelsonville, Elizabeth, Haley, Thomas and Christopher Andersen of Amherst; and special cousins, Toni and James Bussian of Amherst. He is further survived by numerous aunts, uncles, other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Eugene "Bud" Uhl, maternal grandparents, Donald and Shirley Smith, and by aunt and uncle David and Holly Smith.
“He was proud to be there (in Iraq), proud to be defending the country,” said his mother Joan Uhl.
Saturday, the Portage County resident was among the 17 soldiers who died when two Black Hawk helicopters collided in the northern city of Mosul, according to the Department of Defense.
Sgt. Warren S. Hansen, of Clintonville, also died in the U.S. military’s worst single loss of life since the Iraq war began in March. Hansen and Uhl are the sixth and seventh Wisconsin soldiers killed in Iraq.
The Village of Amherst is 55 miles northwest of Appleton.
Late Sunday, the Department of Defense issued notification of a third Wisconsin death stemming from the crash: 2nd Lt. Jeremy L. Wolfe, 27, of Menomonie, served in the 4th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment.
Uhl would have turned 22 on Thanksgiving, said Joan Uhl.
Eugene Uhl joined the Army in June 2002 and left for Iraq in February, his mother said. His father fought in Vietnam, and his grandfather served in World War II and the Korean War.
His mom last saw him in person over Christmas last year, but they saw each other through a camera hooked to the Internet a month ago.
Eugene Uhl was engaged to be married in June. He also is survived by three sisters and his father. His sisters spoiled their younger brother, Joan Uhl said.
His mom said Uhl wrote a letter recently that only his dad was allowed to read. “It was just he had a bad feeling about what was going to happen,” she said.
The 2000 graduate of Amherst High School talked about having a career in the military, attending more school and living in Kentucky.
He even asked his family to follow him there, his mother said.
“He was serious, but yet he was very outgoing,” his mother said. “He was sometimes a prankster, very caring and full of life.”
AMHERST, Wis. — The community gathered to mourn the death of a young soldier who died in the crash of two Black Hawk helicopters in Iraq.
Flags flew at half-staff outside Amherst High School, Staff Sgt. Eugene Uhl III’s alma mater, where a community memorial service was held Nov. 25 in the gym. A funeral was planned for the following day.
“What we honor here today is a young man who took a different direction,” Chaplain Daniel Farley told a crowd of about 450 who gathered to remember the 21-year-old Uhl. He died Nov. 15 in Mosul, Iraq, in a crash that killed 17 soldiers.
“He knew the risks, but he also knew it was a wonderful opportunity to make a difference,” said Farley, a captain who served as Uhl’s chaplain with the Wisconsin National Guard in Stevens Point.
Uhl’s parents, Eugene Jr. and Joan Uhl, stood with his sisters and other relatives in front of a flag-draped casket. A portrait of Uhl sat on a nearby easel, and slides of his life flashed on a screen.
Capt. Brian Leahy recalled hearing Uhl tell stories about his grandfather, the late Eugene “Bud” Uhl, who served in the same National Guard unit and was a decorated World War II combat veteran.
Leahy said Uhl left for active duty in July 2002, despite the uncertain times, because of his love for the country.
“The simple fact that you wear the uniform puts you in harm’s way,” he added.
National Guard soldiers in olive green dotted the crowd. Sgt. 1st Class Paul Peplinski said many of the younger unit members were good friends with Uhl.
Amherst principal Pete Sippel said a somber mood hung over the school throughout the week as students were reminded of the sacrifices of others.
