
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Gregory Hicks enlisted in the Army less than a month after graduation, an adventurous 17-year-old who longed to see the world.
The Campbell County native got his wish, serving for almost 19 years, traveling the globe and participating in both Iraq wars.
“He always talked about wanting to go and fly and going places that he’d never been to before,” his mother Flora Hicks told The Knoxville News Sentinel newspaper. “He said there wasn’t anything out here for him.”
But Sgt. 1st Class Hicks, 35, made the ultimate sacrifice when he was one of nine soldiers killed in the crash of a medical transport helicopter. He was on his way home to the United States...