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                         April 11, 2003

West Point grad killed in Black Hawk crash

Complied by Irene Brown
Editor

U.S. Military Academy graduate, Capt. James F. Adamouski, was one of six soldiers killed April 2 when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in central Iraq.

1995 USMA grad, Capt. James F. Adamouski, was killed in a Black Hawk crash April 2.

Adamouski was deployed to Kuwait three months ago, his parents, Judith and Francis J. Adamouski Jr., said April 5 during an interview with a reporter at their home in the Northern Virginia suburbs. The elder Adamouski, a Vietnam veteran, said his son was prepared for the dangers of war.

"What his West Point buddies told us is that Jimmy died the way they wanted to die. He died in a blaze of glory, and he’s an American hero," Frank Adamouski told reporters.

Adamouski, a member of the USMA Class of 1995, also served four tours of duty in Bosnia.

He had just been accepted to Harvard Business School, and planned to teach economics here after earning his master’s in business administration.

"The hardest part," his mother said, "is thinking about the future -- what he could have been."

 In his last e-mail to his wife, Adamouski remarked on his mission in Iraq.

"I am proud to be a soldier and proud to be doing a noble job, and leading my soldiers is an honor and something that I cherish," he wrote.

The 29-year-old was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, at Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia.

Adamouski is survived by his wife, Meighan, his parents and three sisters, Laura Griffith, Karen Marion and Jaclyn Adamouski.

The other soldiers killed in the helicopter crash were: Spc. Mathew G. Boule, 22, of Dracut, Mass.; Chief Warrant Officer 4th Class Erik A. Halvorsen, 40, of Bennington, Vt.; Chief Warrant Officer Scott Jamar, 32, of Granbury, Tex.; Sgt. Michael F. Pedersen, 26, of Flint, Mich.; and Chief Warrant Officer Eric A. Smith, 42, of Rochester, N.Y.