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An Army helicopter and Texas Game Warden's boat search Belton Lake, Friday, June 3, 2016, where Owl Creek feeds into it for four missing soldiers from U.S Army's Fort Hood that were swept away in a low water crossing during training - nine soldiers were killed in the accident. (Rodolfo Gonzalez/Austin American-Statesman via AP)(Photo: Rodolfo Gonzalez, AP)
Army officials at Fort Hood, Texas, on Sunday released the name of the ninth soldier who died when a truck overturned in a flooded low-water crossing on post.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The names of the other eight soldiers were released late Saturday night.
The deadly accident took place Thursday morning. The soldiers were conducting small-unit convoy operations training when their vehicle overturned at Owl Creek with 12 soldiers on board. Three were rescued by other soldiers in another vehicle following, officials said. The bodies of three others were recovered downstream.
USA TODAY
Fort Hood identifies soldiers killed in training accident
The remaining six soldiers were recovered after a massive search that stretched into Friday.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Most of the soldiers belonged to 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
The soldiers who died were:
- Spc. Yingming Sun, 25, from Monterey Park, Calif.
- Staff Sgt. Miguel Angel Colonvazquez, 38, from Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Spc. Christine Faith Armstrong, 27, from Twentynine Palms, Calif.
- Pfc. Brandon Austin Banner, 22, from Milton, Fla.
- Pfc. Zachery Nathaniel Fuller, 23, from Palmetto, Fla.
- Pvt. Isaac Lee Deleon, 19, from San Angelo, Texas.
- Pvt. Eddy Raelaurin Gates, 20, from Dunn, N.C.
- Pvt. Tysheena Lynette James, 21, from Jersey City, N.J.
- Cadet Mitchell Alexander Winey, 21, from Valparaiso, Ind.
Sun<span style="color: Red;">*</span>entered active-duty service in October 2013 as a motor transport operator and was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division since August 2014.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sun’s awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, the Korea Defense Service Medal and the Overseas Service Ribbon.
Colonvazquez entered active-duty service in July 2003 as a motor transport operator. He was with 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment since May 2011.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>He deployed to Iraq from September 2005 to September 2006 and again from May to November 2011. Colonvazquez also deployed twice to Afghanistan.
His awards and decorations include five Army Commendation Medals, five Army Achievement Medals, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with campaign star, the Iraq Campaign Medal with campaign star, two Korea Defense Service Medals, and three Overseas Service Ribbons.
A Light Medium Tactical Vehicle like this one overturned June 2, 2016.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Sgt. Angel Turner, U.S. Army)
Armstrong entered active duty in February 2014 as a motor transport operator. She was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>assigned to 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment since September 2014.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Her awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, the Korea Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
Banner joined the Army in March 2014 as a motor transport operator. He was with 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment since July 2014.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>His awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, the Korea Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
Fuller entered active duty in November 2015 as a motor transport operator. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment since April.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>His awards and decorations include a National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
Deleon entered active-duty service in November 2015 as a motor transport operator. He was with 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment since April.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>His awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
Gates entered the Army in December 2015 as a motor transport operator, arriving at 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment in April.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Gates’ awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
“Cadet Winey was enormously proud to be a cadet. Mitchell was an exemplary cadet in academics, as an engineering management major, during company athletics, and as a member of the Ski Patrol. He was clearly a rising leader in his class and a friend to everyone who knew him.”
West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen
James joined the Army in November 2015 as a motor transport operator, arriving at 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment in April.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Her awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
Winey was a member of the United States Military Academy Class of 2018, assigned to Company B, First Regiment. .<span style="color: Red;">*</span>He reported to West Point on July 2, 2014.
Winey, who was assigned to B Company, First Regiment, was at Fort Hood for Cadet Troop Leader Training, according to a Facebook message from West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen.
“Cadet Winey was enormously proud to be a cadet,” Caslen wrote. “Mitchell was an exemplary cadet in academics, as an engineering management major, during company athletics, and as a member of the Ski Patrol. He was clearly a rising leader in his class and a friend to everyone who knew him.”
The accident is under investigation by the Army Combat Readiness Center.
Severe storms have pummeled Texas in recent days, with widespread flooding reported across the state. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster across 31 counties and heavy rain was falling in some places.
The road the soldiers were traveling on isn’t marked as a low-water crossing, which means it typically isn’t prone to flooding, said Lt. Col. Sunset Belinsky, a spokeswoman for the 1st Cavalry Division.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“But because of the unusual amount of rain we’ve received, water did come across the road,” she said.
A Fort Hood official speaking on background said that at the time of the incident all roads prone to flooding were already closed on post. Around the time the emergency call came in, officials from the Fort Hood Department of Emergency Services were advising leaders to shut down additional roads, the official told Army Times.
Fort Hood spokesman Chris Haug confirmed the account, saying Friday that at the time of the incident, “water was rising quickly” and “we were in the process of closing the roads.”
Contributing: Greg Toppo, USA TODAY
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