Saturday proved to be a deadly day for U.S. military personnel conducting training operations. Two U.S. Marines were killed in a helicopter crash in Arizona and a U.S. Army soldier was killed during a live-fire training accident in Alaska.
In the first accident, a U.S. Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter crashed during a semi-annual Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course at the Yuma air station in Arizona. Both pilots were killed in the crash. They were identified on Monday as Major Matthew M. Wiegand, 34, of Ambler, Pennsylvania, and Captain Travis W. Brannon, 30, of Nashville, Tennessee. Brannon was assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 367, Marine Aircraft Group 24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing out of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii and Wiegand was assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One.
“It is a somber day for the entire Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command (MAGTFTC) as we mourn this tremendous loss. Our thoughts and prayers remain with their families and loved ones during this extremely difficult time,” Brig. Gen. Roger B. Turner Jr., MAGTFTC commanding general said in the command release.
The crash is currently under investigation.
The same day, U.S. Army Specialist Nicholas DiMona III, 20, was shot during a live-fire training exercise at Donnelly Training Area near Fort Greely in Alaska. He died of his injuries after being medevaced to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.
DiMona was an infantryman assigned to 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
“Nick was an outstanding paratrooper with an infectious personality and an uncanny desire to excel no matter the challenge,” Colonel Jason Jones, DiMona’s brigade commander, said in a U.S. Army Alaska press release. “He will be missed by the entire Spartan Brigade. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family.”
The incident is currently under investigation.
