Chief Warrant Officer 2, Matthew Laskowski, 32, of Phoenix, Ariz. was assigned to the 4th Squadron, Outlaw Troop, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colorado. He died February 25, 2004, when the OH-58 helicopter in which he was flying crashed in the Euphrates River in Habbinayah, Iraq.

CWO2 Laskowski originally enlisted in the Navy in 1990 where he served 9 years as an aircraft mechanic. He transferred to the Army where he learned to fly and earned his Aviator Badge in 2000.

CWO2 Laskowski is remembered by fellow servicemen for having a silly sense of humor and zest for being in the gym; he could bench-press 430 pounds He loved flying, scuba diving and Mexican food, but none of those hobbies came close to the way he felt about his wife and daughters.

When Matt was last home in January 2004, he shared this with his family: “He reiterated how important the job they were doing was. He talked about the conditions that people were living in. He wanted them to have the same freedom we have. That was always his goal.”

CWO2 Laskowski is survived by his two daughters Isabel and Aniela and his wife Jennifer. “He was and is my soul mate,” she said.