Montgomery, Michael Patrick
Male
Verified Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael Patrick Montgomery, 36, of Savannah, Georgia, was a U.S. Army helicopter pilot. He died on October 26, 2009, in Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan, when his MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed.
Their Story
Michael Patrick Montgomery was a Chief Warrant Officer 4 serving with Company B, 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), based at Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia. The 160th SOAR, known as the 'Night Stalkers,' is a special operations unit specializing in helicopter aviation. Montgomery, a Savannah native, was 36 years old at the time of his death and had deployed to multiple theaters, including Afghanistan, the Philippines, and the Horn of Africa.
On October 26, 2009, Montgomery was piloting an MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter on a mission in the Darreh-ye Bum village of Wardak Province, west of Kabul. According to U.S. military reports, the aircraft crashed during the operation. The incident was declared a 'hostile' loss, though the exact circumstances of the crash were not detailed in initial releases. He was one of seven U.S. service members and three Drug Enforcement Administration agents killed in the crash.
Montgomery's death occurred during Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan that began in October 2001 following the 9/11 attacks. The conflict involved coalition forces, the Afghan government, and insurgent groups including the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Wardak Province, where the crash occurred, was an area of significant insurgent activity.
The crash that killed Montgomery and nine others was one of the deadliest incidents for U.S. personnel in Afghanistan in 2009. The Department of Defense officially announced the casualties the following day. His name was entered into the Defense Casualty Analysis System on October 26, 2009.
Montgomery is memorialized on the Army's casualty lists and on veteran memorial websites. His unit, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, is recognized for its high-risk missions, and its fallen personnel are honored within the special operations community.
Explore Further
Michael Patrick Montgomery was killed during Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2014). The conflict concluded in December 2014. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.
Among those documented in the same conflict: Andrews, Evander Earl, Edmunds, Jonn Joseph, Stonesifer, Kristofor Tif, Davis, Bryant Leroy.
