BENNINGTON, VT, USA U.S. Army CW4, COMPANY B, 2D BATTALION/3D AVIATION REGIMENT, HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, GA 31409 KARBALA, IRAQ 04/02/2003
Chief Warrant Officer Erik Anders Halvorsen was born on February 22, 1963 in Bennington, Vermont. He graduated from Mount Anthony Union High School and went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronic Engineering at the University of Hartford in 1986. He joined the Army in 1987 and entered the Army’s helicopter program. In 1998, he left the Army for civilian life in aviation but returned active duty in June 2000 as a Warrant Officer.
Erik was a career soldier who served in Korea, Bosnia and Operation Desert Storm. He was killed on April 2, 2003 when his UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in central Iraq.
A career soldier, Chief Warrant Officer 4th Class Erik A. Halvorsen, 40, of Bennington, Vermont, an Army pilot stationed with the 3rd Army Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, Georgia, was killed on April 2, 2003 when the Black Hawk helicopter he was flying crashed near the city of Karbala in Iraq.
According to the soldier’s mother, Dorothy Halvorsen of Bennington, her son joined the Army after earning a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering at the University of Hartford in 1986. By the time he deployed to Iraq the officer was no stranger to serving his country in dangerous places. In addition to serving in Korea, he also served in Bosnia and in Operation Desert Storm.
However, his mother said she knew her son’s last assignment, the one that sent him to Iraq, was different from all the previous assignments. He was headed into some extremely dangerous territory.
“Erik was my only son, and was a career soldier,” she said. “He left the military once to try out commercial piloting, but he didn’t like it. He also went through OCS and became a commissioned officer. He seemed most happy with his friends in the Warrant Officer group. He loved flying and died doing what he loved.
His death leaves a big hole in the hearts of his parents, and three sisters. The officer didn’t have any children.
Reflecting back onto her son’s life, Dorothy Halverson said, “He loved scuba diving, cycle racing, and most of all, downhill skiing. He spent winter vacations here skiing all over Vermont. He was quiet and honest man, and he was a great guy. We miss him so much.”
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