Name: Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bryan J. Nichols
Age: 31 From: Hays, KS Assigned to 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), U.S. Army Reserve, New Century, Kan. Incident: Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bryan J. Nichols
died Aug. 6 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter in which he was riding was shot down.
Reservist &lsquohad no enemies&rsquo
The Associated Press
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bryan Nichols, 31, a pilot from Kansas City, Mo., was eager to get back to flying after a stint handling paperwork as a unit administrator.
So when the word went out that people were needed to train for a mobilization, Nichols volunteered.
Nichols was one of three of the crew members aboard the downed Chinook from the same Army reserve unit &mdash Bravo Company, 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, based at Gardner, Kan. &mdash killed Aug. 6 when a Chinook helicopter went down in Afghanistan, killing 30 U.S. troops.
Lt. Col. Richard Sherman, former commander of Nichols&rsquo unit, said one of his favorite memories is flying a pace car with Nichols to Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.
&ldquoMy happiest and saddest memories are now tied to him,&rdquo said Sherman, who was in command and working as an instructional pilot when Nichols joined his unit.
&ldquoHe had no enemies. He was one everyone wanted to be around. You just liked flying with him because you knew he was going to improve as a young pilot and get better every time you flew with him.&rdquo
Funeral set for Kan. soldier in helicopter crash
The Associated Press
HAYS, Kan. &mdash A Kansas soldier who died when the helicopter he was flying was shot down in Afghanistan will be memorialized this week in his hometown of Hays.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bryan Nichols was among 30 U.S. troops killed Aug. 6 in the crash of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter.
The 31-year-old pilot grew up in Hays and graduated from Thomas More Prep-Marian High School. The Hays Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/qBYH7 ) the funeral will be held Friday morning in the school's fieldhouse.
Nichols and his family lived in Kansas City, Mo. He served with the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment based at the New Century AirCenter in Gardner, Kan.
Two other reservists from the unit &mdash 23-year-old Spc. Alexander Bennett, of Overland Park, and 21-year-old Spc. Spencer Duncan, of Olathe &mdash also died in the crash.
Died: August 6, 2011