M32

Hero Flight Mission # 31

February 19, 2014

Passengers: Pfc. Kenneth (Kenny) Adams, Cpl. Rob Engelbrecht, SSgt. Johnnie Yellock, SSG Shilo Harris, SSG Phillips Casey, SSG Kyle Malin, and three Helping a Hero support staff

Purpose: Helping a Hero event

Route: Conroe, TX – Fayetteville, NC – Conroe, TX

Pilots: Howard Turek and Mike Weimert

VES Staff: Alicia Camp

Background:
We received a request from Helping a Hero to fly six wounded warriors to a Helping a Hero event in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
While on his first deployment, Pfc. Adams was accidentally shot in the head by a fellow soldier while he was cleaning his gun in their barracks in Afghanistan. He lost sign in both eyes and the left front portion of his brain.
In 2006, Cpl. Rob Engelbrecht was seriously injured by an IED explosion and as a result, he had to have his left leg amputated, lost his right eye, has only 40% vision in the left eye. He also has multiple shrapnel wounds throughout his body leaving his right arm with severe damage and extensive damage to his discs in his back.
Staff Sgt. Johnnie Yellock, a combat controller with the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, was on a mission in Afghanistan when his vehicle struck an IED, destroying the vehicle and seriously wounding him. His injuries included two badly shattered feet and a heel wound that would not stop bleeding. Despite his injuries, he instructed the team leader on how to select and mark a helicopter landing zone, properly controlling the inbound aircraft.
While on his second deployment to Iraq, the vehicle that SSG Shilo Harris was traveling in hit a massive roadside bomb. The detonation killed three soldiers, wounded the driver and left SSG Harris with burns on 35% of his body. He lost his ears, the tip of his nose, his left index and pinkie fingers. He also suffered fractures to his left collar bone and sustained spinal injuries.
Staff Sgt. Phillips Casey, a squad leader in the 101st Airborne Division, was on patrol in Afghanistan when he knelt down atop an IED. The blast took his right leg above the knee. Despite his injuries, Staff Sgt. Casey continued to lead his squad members to safety, while directing local security, all while assisting the platoon medic in his own emergency care.

On his fourth tour, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Kyle Malin lost both of his legs when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan in July, 2010.
All of the veterans serve as representatives for Helping a Hero, a national homebuilding organization, that provides specially adapted homes for qualifying service members and their families.