Fallen Soldier Remembered
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The country mourns the lost of two National Guard aviators killed Saturday in a helicopter crash in Campbell County. Guard officials said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Dan Cole, 39, and 1st Lt. Thomas Joseph Williams Jr., 26, both of Knoxville, were killed in a training exercise while flying an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior Helicopter. “It is a terrible tragedy whenever we lose a soldier, but we can rest assured that these two outstanding pilots lost their lives doing something that they loved and believed in, preparing to defend the freedoms we all enjoy,” said Major General Max Haston of the National Guard. Sources said Cole grew up in Chester County, joined the Guard while in high school and went to Freed-Hardeman University. They said his father retired from the Guard as a helicopter pilot. “Dan was what I would consider one of the more balanced teenagers and everything I’ve seen and heard since then indicates that’s the kind of life he’s lived,” said Evangelist Ben Flatt with Churches of Christ. Flatt said Cole comes from one of the finest families in Chester County. “I don’t know how to put it into words. Every time I saw John, his father, he was telling me about Dan,” said Flatt. Newman said upon hearing of Dan’s death he was in disbelief. “(I) was hoping God would let me wake up out of a bad dream,” said Newman. Cole leaves a behind a wife and two children. Sources close to the family said a funeral for Cole will be held Friday in Knoxville. After which, he will be buried in Tennessee State Veteran’s Cemetery.
