Idaho Guardsmen Killed in Helicopter Crash Remembered

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Neighbors, families and friends in Idaho mourned the two Army National Guard pilots who were killed when their helicopter crashed during a training mission near the Boise airport. The Idaho Statesman reports U.S. flags went up throughout the small subdivision in Meridian where one of the pilots, Stien Gearhart, lived with his wife, Vickie. Neighbors say the 50-year-old Gearhart was a "wonderful man" and his loss is devastating to the neighborhood. In Kuna, the home of the second pilot, Jon Hartway, neighbors say the 43-year-old Hartway was someone "people looked up to."

The pilots were assigned to the 1-183rd (FIRST OF THE 183rd) Attack Reconnaissance Battalion at Gowen Field. Guard spokesman Col. Tim Marsano says the cause of the crash remains under investigation.