Working 9 to 5 never suited Army Chief Warrant Officer Erik C. Kesterson.
He loved to surf, ski and ride his Harley, and he enjoyed refurbishing World War I biplanes with his father, a retired United Airlines mechanic.
He also loved the military.
After serving eight years in the Marines, Kesterson took a job selling aircraft parts then enlisted in the Army shortly after Sept. 11, 2001.
“Erik was a guy who lived his life with passion and adventure,” said his stepbrother, Tim Mahalak. “And it didn’t matter what it was. He loved life.”
Eight days after arriving in Iraq, Kesterson was among 17 soldiers killed when two Black Hawk helicopters crashed in Mosul on Nov. 15.
Kesterson, 29, from Independence, Ore., was the co-pilot of one of the downed helicopters, his family said.
“He had a passion to get up in the air,” Mahalak said. “He just liked the challenge of it.”
During his earlier military career, Kesterson survived a fiery training crash in 2000 and led seven Marines to safety, Mahalak said.
“Being the gunner on one side of the Huey, he stood atop the helicopter and pulled people out. Once everyone was clear, he jumped off and ran away,” Mahalak said.
Kesterson was awarded the Marine Corps Medal of Heroism, a Marine spokesman said.
After joining the Army and completing flight training, Kesterson pressed to be sent to Iraq, his stepbrother said.
“He wasn’t worried about death,” Mahalak said. “He felt he was ready. He was at the top of his game.”
Cared for others: During mail call in Iraq, Army Spec. Jeremiah J. DiGiovanni showed his generous spirit, making sure to give something to those who didn’t get packages from home.
And at the very least, he would offer his favorite candy, Wint-O-Green LifeSavers.
“I could not tell you how many thousands of those LifeSavers my family sent to him,” said DiGiovanni’s father, Joe.
DiGiovanni, 21, of Pricedale, Miss., a helicopter crew chief and member of the 101st Airborne, was also killed in the Nov. 15 helicopter crash in Mosul.
“Dedicated, upbeat and generous, those three words cannot be any better a description of him,” his father said.
DiGiovanni, whose paternal grandfather served 35 years in the Army, enjoyed reading horror novels, working on a computer and flying in helicopters.
“He loved flying ever since he was a wee tot,” his father said. “He was the proverbial kid who wanted to jump off the roof with an umbrella to see if he could float down.”
Close to grandmother: Army Pfc. Damian L. Heidelberg, a native of Shubuta, Miss., tagged along with his grandmother nearly everywhere, including church, where he was an usher and sang in the choir.
Heidelberg, 21, an administrative specialist in the 101st Airborne, was also killed in the Nov. 15 helicopter crash in Mosul. Two weeks before the crash, he was in a convoy that was ambushed in a firefight and tended the wounded, according to the Clarion-Ledger newspaper of Jackson, Miss.
“All I know is that he was a nice boy, and we loved him very much,” said his grandmother, Bitha Heidelberg. “I’m real proud of him to give his life for our country.”
