Iowa Marine among fallen on crashed helo - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Iowa Marine among fallen on crashed helo

Marine Corps Master Sgt. Travis Riddick, a Centerville, Iowa, native, was killed Thursday in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan, his parents said. He was 40.

Riddick joined the Corps after graduating from Centerville High School in 1990.

“I guess we’re kind of a Marine Corps family,” said Riddick’s father, John Riddick of Mount Pleasant. “My dad was a Marine, my brother was a Marine, I was a Marine, his cousins were Marines.”

Travis Riddick served three tours of duty in Iraq and two in Afghanistan, his parents said.

“He was there on the first day they went into Iraq. He was flying stuff in there,” John Riddick said.

Travis Riddick had just been promoted to master sergeant Jan. 1, his father said. He had just four or five weeks remaining on this tour of duty.

The U.S. military had not confirmed Riddick’s death as of Friday night.

The Vietnam War-era CH-53D helicopter crash killed six Hawaii-based Marines in the southern Helmand province, according to The Associated Press. The cause is still being investigated, but a coalition statement said there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash. German Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson, a spokesman for the NATO coalition in Kabul, said officials were looking at a “technical fault” as the possible culprit.

The Riddicks said their son was a crew chief who enjoyed doing maintenance work on CH-53 helicopters. “He loved his job. He loved what he did,” his father said.

“He was the most wonderful person in the world,” said his mother, Barbara Riddick. “He was a wonderful son and a wonderful father and the best Marine ever.”

Riddick said his son had previously served on the president’s helicopter squadron. “He flew President Clinton and President Bush,” he said.

The parents said Riddick’s wife, Jennifer Riddick, lives in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, with the couple’s youngest child, Victoria Riddick, age 10. The couple’s son, Levi Riddick, age 19, lives in Drakesville, Iowa. The couple’s other children are Charles Lovelace, who is a member of the Coast Guard, Matt Lovelace, Jamie Lovelace and Zachary Lovelace.

John Riddick said his son always stayed in touch with his family, although he didn’t know how.

“They hated to see him go. And they loved it when he came back,” he said.

Jennifer Riddick was flying to Dover Air Force Base, Del., on Friday to meet her husband’s body.

Riddick’s family includes an older brother, Tim Riddick, and a twin brother, Troy Riddick, who recently retired after 21 years in the Navy, family said.