SGT Bryan Paul Abercrombie, 22, died unexpectedly on Dec. 11, 2002, along with five other soldiers when their UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crashed in the mountains of Honduras while trying to avoid stormy weather on a training mission.

SGT Abercrombie, the youngest of four children, was born on Dec. 8, 1980. He graduated from Clearfield High School, Utah in 1998, and commanded the Junior ROTC Detachment during his senior year. Bryan attended Weber State University for one year, but wanting to fly helicopters, he enlisted in the Army in May 1999 and became a Blackhawk crew chief. He served for two years at Fort Hood, Texas, and then was assigned to Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, arriving on Sept. 11, 2001. He was with Joint Task Force Bravo, a military command that conducts humanitarian missions and anti-drug activities in Central and South America.

SGT Abercrombie loved life. He spun CDs and tended bar at a club on his military base when he wasn’t working as a helicopter crew chief. According to his mom Diane, he loved the action and challenge of the Army. He was a daredevil — “He had no fear,” she said.