The seven 4th Infantry Division soldiers who died Monday in the crash of an Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter near Bruceville-Eddy had proven themselves in battle and represented the nation’s best, Col. Donald MacWillie told the more than 2,500 soldiers and mourners who packed a Killeen church Friday for a memorial service for the crash victims.

During the memorial service Friday morning at the Christian House of Prayer, Division Commander Maj. Gen. James Thurman spoke of the 4th ID’s heavy heart and the loss of the seven soldiers, including two top officers.

Brig. Gen. Charles B. Allen, 49, and six other 4th Infantry Division soldiers died in the crash.

Allen was an assistant commander of Fort Hood’s 4th Infantry Division who was promoted to brigadier general last year.

Click Here For More Information On Brig. Gen. Charles Allen From The 4th Infantry Division

Division Support Commander Col. James Moore was also aboard the helicopter.

Click Here For 4th Infantry Division Web Site

Also killed in the crash were 26-year-old Capt. Todd T. Christmas, 48-year-old CWO-5 Douglas V. Clapp, 32-year-old CWO-2 David H. Gardner, Jr., 27-year-old CWO-2 Mark W. Evans, Jr. and 29-year-old Specialist Richard L. Brown.

Gardner and Evans were the pilots of the helicopter, which clipped support wires on the KXXV-TV transmission tower and crashed and burned in a nearby field.

Christmas was a Texas A&M University graduate who had just returned to Fort Hood after spending the Thanksgiving holiday with his family in New Mexico.

He was a member of A&M’s Corps of Cadets.

Christmas, who served a one-year tour of duty in Iraq, was a career military man who died doing what he loved, said family friend Patti Goetsch.

Funeral services for Christmas will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at the Lifeway Fellowship Church at 4001 E. Elms Rd. in Killeen.

A memorial service for Christmas will be held at 3:30 p.m. Friday at the New Mexico Military Institute Chapel.

Christmas will be buried Monday at Christmas Ranch Road in New Mexico.

The 4th Infantry Division soldiers were on a flight from Fort Hood to Texarkana when the helicopter went down in heavy fog early Monday morning.

Click Here For Fort Hood Web Site

LIST OF CASUALTIES:

Brig. Gen. Charles B. Allen, 49, assistant division commander
for support. Allen, who was born in Alaska and listed his home of record as
Oklahoma, entered the Army in May 1977 and received his initial training as a
field artillery officer.

Col. James M. Moore, 47, commander of the Division Support
Command. A native of Peabody, Mass., he entered the Army in September 1980.

Capt. Todd. T. Christmas, 26, an air defense artillery officer
assigned to the division's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Special
Troops Battalion. A native of New Mexico, he entered the Army in August 2001.

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Douglas V. Clapp, 48, a senior
division automotive maintenance officer. Clapp, who was born in Lebanon, Pa.,
and listed his home of record as Greensboro, N.C., entered the Army in August
1974.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 David H. Gardner Jr., 32, a helicopter
pilot assigned to the division's A Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment.
Gardner, who was born in Germany and listed Iowa as his home of record, entered
the Army in October 1992. Gardner served in Iraq from October 2003 to April
2004.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Mark W. Evans Jr., 27, a helicopter
pilot assigned to A Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment. Evans, who was
born in Michigan and listed his home of record as Florida, entered the Army in
November 1995. Evans served in Iraq from November 2003 to April 2004.

Spc. Richard L. Brown, 29, a helicopter mechanic assigned to
the division's Headquarters and Headquarters Company. Brown was born in Kansas
and listed Stonewall, La., as his home of record. Brown served in Iraq from
March 2003 to March 2004.