Published: September 19, 2008 11:30 am      

3 Lexington-based soldiers killed in Iraq

OKLAHOMA CITY — Three soldiers from a Lexington-based Oklahoma National Guard detachment were among seven soldiers killed when their helicopter crashed in southern Iraq, military officials said.

The Oklahoma soldiers were from Detachment 1, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 149th Aviation, the Oklahoma National Guard said in a statement. The other four soldiers were members of the Texas National Guard.

The CH-47 Chinook was flying in a four-helicopter formation from Kuwait to the U.S. military base at Balad, north of Baghdad, when it crashed shortly after midnight Thursday in the desert about 60 miles west of Basra, the military said.

"The brave men and women of the Oklahoma Army and Air National Guard have an awesome responsibility," Gov. Brad Henry said in a statement. "They place themselves in harm's way for the sake of the country they love.

"The tragic deaths of three Oklahoma Guardsmen remind us of the dangers they routinely face so that Americans can enjoy the freedoms upon which this nation was founded."

The military did not immediately release the names of those killed, but family members confirmed the dead were Sgt. Dan Eshbaugh, 43, of Norman; Cpl. Michael Thompson, 23, of Kingston; and Chief Warrant Officer Brady Rudolf, 37, of Moore, The Oklahoman reported Friday.

The men were in a unit made up of about 200 Oklahoma and Texas guard members that was mobilized in June and left for duty in Iraq in late August, said Maj. Gen. Harry M. Wyatt III, adjutant general of Oklahoma.

Thompson's stepfather, Richard Perry, told The Oklahoman that Thompson loved the military and volunteered to return to Iraq.

"He heard they were having a hard time finding open door machine gunners," Perry said. "He was qualified from his time in infantry, so he said, 'Hell, I'll go back for a year.' They thought he was crazy but they signed him up that day."

Rudolf, a pharmacist, was a pilot in the Guard although his wife, Jennifer, did not know if he was flying the helicopter that crashed. He had already put in 20 years in the National Guard, but wanted to continue.

"I'm proud of him," his wife said. "He felt like his unit and his men needed him because he was trained and ready to go. That was his character."

Rachel Eshbaugh, like several Oklahoma military families, waited and waited Thursday before receiving the news she feared.

Her husband, Sgt. Dan Eshbaugh, leaves behind four children, including two with Rachel.

In Washington, a Pentagon official said officials suspect a malfunction on the Chinook.

"They think it was a mechanical problem," he said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press on the record.

Earlier, a military spokesman in Baghdad, Maj. John Hall, said hostile fire had been ruled out.

"The other three helicopters in the flight did not have incident or injury," Hall said.

Perry said his family wants more answers.

"We've had a bad day," Perry said. "We just don't understand why this happened. We're not questioning the military or anything, but we don't know why."

The crash occurred in an area of Iraq under British military control, and a British quick reaction force and road convoy were dispatched to help American officials at the site. An investigation into the cause of the crash was under way.

The deaths of the three Oklahoma soldiers bring to 70 the number of Oklahomans killed in Iraq since 2003.