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During a routine mission as part of a Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) deployment in Egypt last week, five U.S. soldiers were killed when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed.

The Army has identified the five who were killed:

Capt. Seth Vernon Vandekamp, 31, from Katy, Texas – Vandecamp was an Army doctor, on his first deployment and had arrived in Egypt in October. His awards include the Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Dallas G. Garza, 34, from Fayetteville, North Carolina – Garza was a Black Hawk pilot. He was prior enlisted, having commissioned in 2010, and had completed previous deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. His awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters and Army Achievement Medal with Silver Oak Leaf Cluster.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Marwan Sameh Ghabour, 27, from Marlborough, Massachusetts – was also a Black Hawk pilot. He had commissioned as a warrant officer in 2018 and was on his first overseas assignment. His awards include the Army Aviation Badge.

Staff Sgt. Kyle Robert McKee, 35, from Painesville, Ohio – McKee was a UH-60 repairer. He had enlisted in the Army in 2003 and arrived in Egypt in July. McKee had previously deployed to Korea, Afghanistan and Iraq. His awards include the Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal and Combat Action Badge.

Sgt. Jeremy Cain Sherman, 23, from Watseka, Illinois – Sherman was a UH-60 crew chief who enlisted in 2015 and arrived in Egypt in October. He had been previously deployed to Korea and Afghanistan. Sherman’s awards include the Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Award.

Two other servicemen, one French and one Czech were also killed in the crash.

The French Air and Space Force previously identified Lieutenant-Colonel Sébastien Botta, a 21-year-old veteran and deputy head of the MFO liaison office, as the French serviceman who died.
Czech chief of staff said army sergeant Michaela Ticha was also killed in the crash.

Another American injured in the crash was medically evacuated to an Israeli hospital. The soldier is said to be in critical condition, and has not yet been named.

The cause of the crash continues to be investigated, but is still believed to be due to mechanical failure. According to information previously released by MFO, the soldiers in the helicopter were on a routine mission near Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt when the aircraft went down.

In a tweet on Saturday, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Rath Hoffman acknowledged the loss of the soldiers, saying the whole Defense Department “grieves alongside the friends and family of the service members killed this week in Sinai.”

We all grieve alongside them as well.