Billie Jean Grinder
Profile
Age: 25
From: Gallatin, TN
Assigned to the 1st Squadron, 230th Cavalry Regiment, Tennessee National Guard, Louisville, Tenn.
Incident: Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Billie Jean Grinder died Feb. 21 in Qayyarah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when her OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter had a hard landing. Also killed was Capt. Marcus R. Alford.
Died: February 21, 2010
Gallatin Guard soldier killed in helicopter crash
By Jennifer Easton
The Tennessean
Tennessee Army National Guard pilot Billie Jean Grinder, of Gallatin, was killed Sunday when her OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter made a “hard landing” in northern Iraq, officials confirmed Tuesday.
Grinder’s co-pilot, Capt. Marcus Ray Alford of Knoxville, also died in the crash, which took place near Qayyarah Airfield West about 30 miles south of Mosul in northern Iraq. Grinder and Alford both were members of Troop C 1/230th Air Cavalry, which is based in Louisville, Tenn. in Blount County and was once part of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment.
Grinder is the first female casualty of the Tennessee Army National Guard, officials with the Department of Defense confirmed.
Grinder’s sister, Melissa Smith, said the 25-year-old chief warrant officer was deployed to Iraq for her first tour in June 2009. She was scheduled to come home within two weeks, Smith...