The Associated Press
Family members mourned Chief Warrant Officer Timothy W. Moehling, who died in a Blackhawk helicopter crash in the Kuwaiti desert during a night training mission.
Moehling, 35, died Tuesday with three other crew members in the crash near Camp New Jersey, about 30 miles northwest of Kuwait City. The Kuwaiti military said sandstorms were reported in the area at the time the chopper went down.
"We're heart sick," said Nancy Moehling, the soldier's mother. "Timothy loved to fly. He used to fly kites on the beach. He died doing what he loved."
Nancy Moehling said her son told his family he was ordered to fly missions in Kuwait that were "too dangerous" in his opinion. She said he promised to follow his orders, but not without question.
The aircraft, which belonged to the Army's V Corps, was part of the force that has massed in the Persian Gulf emirate for a possible invasion of Iraq.
Moehling, a husband and father of three, is the second graduate of Mosley High School in Panama City to die in a Blackhawk helicopter crash in less than three months.
U.S. Army Spc. Luke DeGroff, 22, died Dec. 11 when a chopper crashed in the hills of central Honduras near Santa Cruz de Yojoa, killing all five crew members.
Wayne Moehling, the soldier's father, was also a pilot and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel. He taught his teenage son to fly a Cessna 172, Nancy Moehling said.
Timothy Moehling graduated from Florida State University's Panama City campus in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in social science. He joined the Army after graduation and became an instructor pilot.
The helicopter was part of the 158th Aviation Regiment, 5th Battalion, of the 12th Aviation Brigade based in Giebelstadt, Germany. The group is attached to V Corps' 11th Attack Helicopter Regiment, which is part of some 9,000 troops from the corps deployed as part of the recent U.S. buildup.
Moehling and his wife Lisa had lived in Germany for the past two years with their children: Alex, 5; Sarah, 3; and Noah, 1. The family plans to return to the states, Nancy Moehling said.
"Just before he left for Kuwait, his little 5-year-old son reached up and touched him on the cheek and said, 'Daddy, you're the best,'" Nancy Moehling said.