Scherkenbach, Chris Jon
Male
Verified Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chris Jon Scherkenbach, 40, of Jacksonville, Florida, was a U.S. Army helicopter pilot assigned to Company B, 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). He was killed in a helicopter crash
Their Story
Chris Jon Scherkenbach was a veteran pilot in the elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the Night Stalkers. The unit, based at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, specializes in flying complex missions under demanding conditions for U.S. special operations forces. Scherkenbach's service included deployments to Afghanistan, the Philippines, and the Horn of Africa as part of the broader U.S. counterterrorism efforts following the September 11 attacks.
On June 28, 2005, Scherkenbach was a crew member aboard a U.S. Army MH-47D Chinook helicopter on a mission in eastern Afghanistan's Kunar Province. The aircraft was reportedly transporting a team of Navy SEALs on a mission to locate and recover a missing SEAL commando in the mountainous terrain near Asadabad.
According to U.S. military reports, the helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) while attempting to insert the SEAL team. The MH-47D crashed, killing all 16 personnel on board: eight SEALs and eight Army aircrew, including Scherkenbach. It was one of the deadliest single-day losses for U.S. forces in Afghanistan up to that point.
The incident, later known as the "Battle of Abbas Ghar," was part of a larger, intense engagement in the region. The SEAL ground team that was later ambushed suffered additional casualties, bringing the total American deaths from the operation to 19. The events of late June 2005 highlighted the severe challenges of combat in Afghanistan's remote valleys.
Scherkenbach was 40 years old at the time of his death. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Air Medal with Valor device for his actions. His name is inscribed on the Afghanistan War Memorial at Hunter Army Airfield and on Panel 01E, Row 011 of the Afghanistan Veterans Memorial Wall in Omaha, Nebraska.
His death was recorded among the 2,356 American service members who died during Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led combat mission in Afghanistan that began in October 2001 and concluded in December 2014.
Explore Further
Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led combat mission in Afghanistan in which Scherkenbach served, 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.
