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I first met Kevin while I was stationed at Ramstein AB, Kaiserslautern, Germany. I was the 512 FS Specialist Flight Chief and Kevin was one of several Avionics Technicians who worked for me maintaining our fleet of F-16 fighters. He made a lasting impression on everyone in our flight from the very beginning. He obviously had life goals to achieve and his assignment in Germany was just a stepping-stone to achieve them.

His pleasant and personable personality was obvious which left a lasting impression with me. He always talked about his family and his hometown of Chetek, Wisconsin. Since I grew up near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, we would talk many times about Wisconsin. Many of the members of our Flight would jokingly kid us that we were related because of this.

I remember times we would talk about his goal to be an Army helicopter pilot. He was really set on achieving this and he would talk like it was his mission in life to fly. Since the Air Force did not provide the opportunity for him to achieve this, he looked into the Army’s Warrant Officer program and helicopter flight training. It seemed the perfect path for him to fly.

I left Germany in 1992 and soon forgot many names, but not the faces of the people I had worked with for the last 4 years. Then years later while watching the news, I saw Kevin’s face in article about a helicopter crash in Albania. I was shocked as I realized Kevin had achieved his dream to fly and was killed in the Kosovo war. I am comforted in the fact that he was doing something he loved to do and I am sure that he was one of the best CWO Apache pilots in the Army. He was destined to fly.

I hope that his family realizes that Kevin was well liked by everyone he worked with and his life has touched us all. Words cannot adequately convey the sorrow of Kevin’s loss. I hope that this tribute to Kevin will someday help his friends and family learn how he impacted the lives of so many people and that his duty to our country will not be forgotten.

Mark Beck, SMSgt, USAF Retired
11/01/2008

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