Spc. Nathan Montgomery of Chester was in the containerized housing unit he shared with Pfc. Dennis Lucas of Gratz, Pa., when the two heard a loud boom at approximately 8 p.m. on Sept. 19.
At first, the two thought they were hearing thunder, because of several thunderstorms that had been moving through the area around Joint Base Balad in Iraq in the days prior.
However, when Montgomery went outside a few minutes later, a man ran up to the fence opposite the housing unit and yelled for help. He told Montgomery that he was the pilot of a helicopter that had just crashed.
The men ran to the fence, ripped a section from it, and crawled underneath to follow the pilot to the scene of the crash.
According to a press release, 12 people were injured in the accident involving a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.
Spc. Michael S. Cote, 20, of Denham Springs, La., was killed in the crash.
Montgomery stated in the release that four soldiers total went to the scene.
"Two other soldiers who were outside their CHUs followed us over," he stated in the release.
According to Montgomery, emergency crews had to cut through a fence to get to the site, and all of the injured people had to be carried about 150 yards to the ambulance.
"I was never the lead guy on the litter in training, but I remembered what to do," Montgomery said in the release.
Montgomery stated in the release that the pilot did an amazing job to get the helicopter down into the open field.
"There were (shipping containers) and CHUs and fences all around, and he got it down in the one open area," he said in the release. "There were surgeons on scene in gear; people just ran to the scene."
Lucas stated in the release that he believes training made the difference in how he and Montgomery reacted compared to others at the scene.
"Some ran up to the crash, then stopped; others just watched," he said in the release.
"I never ran so fast in my life as that hundred yards from the fence to the wreckage and I just went to work."
(Matsick can be contacted at jmatsick @ reviewonline.com)
