Bumped to Wednesday for Blogburst

Distinguished Service Cross, posthumous

Citation:
CW4 Keith Yoakum,
Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment
1st Air Cavalry Brigade, Multi-National Division (Baghdad)

CW4 Keith Yoakum distinguished himself by gallantry and courage at the risk of his own life above and beyond the call of duty as an AH-64D Longbow Apache Pilot-in Command while providing cover for his wingman on 2 February 2007 during aerial combat against a deliberate helicopter ambush site.

The previous two weeks in the Baghdad area of operations witnessed four separate attacks on coalition aircraft, resulting in the loss of 19 lives and the destruction of one AH-64D Longbow Apache, one UH-60 Blackhawk, and two Department of Defense contracted helicopters. CW4 Yoakum was the first responder to the UH-60 crash site and was intimately familiar with the enemy’s helicopter ambush tactics.

CW4 Yoakum was the Pilot-in-Command of the trail aircraft in a flight of two AH-64D Longbow Apache helicopters as they departed on a reconnaissance mission in support of four separate ground brigades on the morning of 2 February 2007. Just when the Apache team began reconnaissance of a test fire area, waves of red tracers and heavy machine gun fire burst into the sky from multiple directions and raked the Apaches. The tracer fire immediately engulfed CW4 Yoakum’s aircraft and riddled his fuselage. The enemy had established a deadly kill zone comprised of multiple heavy machine gun and anti-aircraft gun positions. With its interlocking fields of heavy anti-aircraft fire, the enemy ambush site was similar to the earlier ambush site that had downed a UH-60—the same UH-60 that CW4 Yoakum had responded to 13 days earlier, thus familiarizing him with the lethality of the enemy’s tactics.

CW4 Yoakum immediately radioed his lead aircraft to maneuver it away from the direction of fire. As the lead aircraft broke hard to the right, the enemy responded, shifting its fire away from CW4 Yoakum’s aircraft and toward the lead aircraft. CW4 Yoakum warned the lead helicopter announcing “now you’re taking fire!” and the two aircraft broke left to escape the deadly kill zone.

Despite the damage to his aircraft, CW4 Yoakum took personal charge of the team amid the melee of bullets, calmed his lead aircraft, and steered the team out of the kill zone. The team raced to the north to separate from the enemy force and to acquire standoff range to assess the situation. Immediately after their turn to the north, CW4 Yoakum announced that he had “lost utility hydraulics,” a condition that requires the pilot to land the aircraft immediately at the nearest clear landing area. As the senior maintenance test pilot in the company, a prior instructor to other maintenance test pilots, and a Master Army Aviator with almost 5000 flight hours, CW4 Yoakum instantly understood the gravity of his Apache’s emergency condition. Furthermore, CW4 Yoakum recognized that the loss of hydraulic pressure prevented him from employing his aircraft’s main gun. As a result, he would have to use the aircraft’s 2.75 inch rockets from a fixed position, requiring him to skillfully maneuver his crippled aircraft to accurately employ the rockets against the enemy.

The team continued northbound and after approximately two minutes no longer had tracers whipping by their windscreens. Once clear of the immediate threat, CW4 Yoakum had the opportunity to fly his critically damaged aircraft back to the airfield or land in the open desert to conduct an emergency extraction of his crew on his wingman’s aircraft. He again announced “we’ve got no utility hydraulics left.” Still, despite the cockpit warnings and CW4 Yoakum’s own recognition of his grave situation, he never considered leaving his wingman and knew this enemy would kill again if left on the battlefield. The enemy had a distinct advantage as a result of their concealed position among the numerous canals and irrigation ditches in the surrounding countryside. Despite the fierce danger inherent in pressing the attack, CW4 Yoakum radioed his wingman that “I can put rockets in” and continued to plan the route back into the withering fire of the enemy’s ambush site to destroy the enemy’s anti-aircraft positions.

CW4 Yoakum’s instructions to his lead aircraft were simple: “you find them, we’ve got you covered.” CW4 Yoakum knew that his Apache team had a sliver of an opportunity to engage and destroy the enemy before they blended into the Iraqi countryside. The team decided to search the ambush area in a cloverleaf pattern, thereby performing a sweep of the area from all directions until they were able to locate the anti-aircraft guns. Despite his aircraft’s crippled condition and the knowledge of the volume of fire that would again rake his aircraft at the ambush site, CW4 Yoakum was determined to cover his wingman as they searched for targets and eliminated the enemy position which was certain to be set up again at a different time and place to destroy coalition aircraft.

Approximately two minutes after the initial ambush had crippled CW4 Yoakum’s Apache, the lead aircraft, acting on CW4 Yoakum’s instructions, turned south to begin their search for the enemy ambush site. Despite the deteriorating condition of his own aircraft, CW4 Yoakum announced “I’m going to climb up and cover you from high and we’re gonna work on rockets.” As he continued losing critical hydraulic pressure, CW4 Yoakum determined that his degraded weapons systems necessitated that he climb to altitude and then dive his damaged aircraft directly at the enemy to provide effective rocket fire. Only by diving from a higher altitude directly toward the enemy position could he provide precise rocket fire for his wingman while focusing his fires solely on the enemy and away from the surrounding villages and homes in the Iraqi countryside. With unmatched skill and extraordinary courage, CW4 Yoakum began his climb to posture his crippled aircraft in a diving position, knowing full well that his climb would give the enemy gunners a clearer line of sight and more time with which to engage his aircraft as he maneuvered back towards the ambush site.

CW4 Yoakum’s focus on the destruction of the enemy’s anti-aircraft guns caused him to demand as much from his aircraft as he did from himself, but his dying Apache was not able to sustain its altitude. As the Apache team made a second inbound run to the ambush area utilizing their cloverleaf pattern, the lead Apache radioed to CW4 Yoakum to ensure that he was still with them. After transmitting several radio calls and receiving no response, the lead aircraft began a left turn and acquired CW4 Yoakum’s aircraft. After flying for almost four minutes in a critical state, CW4 Yoakum’s Apache had succumbed to its battle damage and was engulfed in a blazing fire on the ground following a crash that had instantly killed CW4 Yoakum and his copilot.

CW4 Yoakum acted to protect his wingman and destroy an enemy anti-aircraft position designed to produce the continued loss of coalition aircraft. His decision to knowingly risk his life to cover his lead aircraft, despite having the opportunity to land or return to the airfield, put the accomplishment of his mission and the protection of his comrades over his own personal safety. His personal bravery and uncommon valor at the risk of his own life reflects great credit upon himself, the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, the First Cavalry Division and the Multinational Division-Baghdad, and the United States Army.

Army Times
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Keith Yoakum should have landed his AH-64 Apache gunship right after taking heavy fire over Baghdad.

Instead, he chose to help his wingman attack the enemy position.

Yoakum and his fellow crew member, Chief Warrant 2 Jason G. Defrenn, died on that Feb. 2 reconnaissance mission.

On Veterans Day, the Army will honor Yoakum’s sacrifice by presenting his wife, Kelly, with a posthumous award of the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second highest award for heroism in battle.

The ceremony will take place 1 p.m. Sunday at Gibbel Park in Yoakum’s hometown of Hemet, Calif.

Yoakum will be the eighth soldier to be awarded the DSC since the war on terror began. Defrenn was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, a Bronze Star for Service and a Purple Heart.

Yoakum, 41, was flying with other aviators from A Company, 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, when enemy fighters attacked his Apache with machine-gun fire.

“Yoakum’s aircraft was seriously damaged by heavy machine-gun fire, which required him to land immediately,” the DSC citation reads. “Without regard for his own safety … Yoakum chose to remain with his wingman to destroy the enemy. With his main gun inoperable, his only option was to climb in altitude and then dive while firing his Apache’s rockets. Ultimately, the aircraft succumbed to its battle damage and crashed.”

Yoakum’s wife and their two daughters, Katelynn, 17, and Kirstee, 15, will travel from their home in Coffee Springs, Ala., to attend the ceremony.

The Yoakums would have been married 18 years Feb. 14, Kelly said.

“It still doesn’t feel real,” she told Army Times. “He was deployed so much. It just seems like one of these days he is just going to pull up.”

But she made it clear her family is happy that her husband’s dedication to being a soldier is going to be recognized.

“It’s still a very positive thing even though we are not going to see him again for however long God has in his plan,” she said. “I’m extremely proud of him. He told me he wanted to give his Army career 110 percent, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Press-Enterprise
Anti-aircraft fire raked pilot Keith Yoakum’s Apache helicopter, crippling most of his weapons and making the prudent move a retreat to a safe landing spot to await rescue.

But pulling back would have exposed Yoakum’s wingman, flying another chopper near Baghdad, to mortal danger from the well-concealed insurgent nests dug into irrigation canals and ditches.

Over the next four harrowing minutes, the Hemet High School graduate took charge of the two-helicopter patrol, pressing an attack even as his Apache lost the vital hydraulics that kept it flying.

The soldiers who flew with him that February day remarked how calm Yoakum, 41, remained as he directed his less-experienced mates, reassuring them even as red tracer bullets whizzed past.

Don’t worry, “We’ve got you covered,” he said over the radio.

Then Yoakum put his Apache into a climb and told the other helicopter pilot that despite the damage, he still had plenty of fight left.

“We’re going to climb up and cover you from high and we’re going to work on (firing) rockets,” Yoakum said.

Seconds later, his radio fell silent. Yoakum’s fellow aviators spotted his burning helicopter engulfed in flames after it plummeted to earth, killing Yoakum and his co-pilot. The other crew made it back to base.

Tuscaloosa News
Kelly Yoakum of Coffee Springs was accustomed to spending long stretches of time away from her husband during the nearly 18 years they were married.

Army Chief Warrant Officer Keith Yoakum was in college and working full time when the couple met and married in California in the late 1980s. Then he was gone for years at a time on various deployments and Army tours of duty to places like South Korea and Egypt.

He planned to retire in February 2009 and develop the 51 acres he and his wife purchased in Coffee Springs to include an airstrip and hangar for the 1946 Fairchild single-engine military trainer he was restoring.

Those dreams were cut short on Feb. 2, when CWO Yoakum was killed in Iraq.

“Reality still has not completely taken hold,” Kelly Yoakum said. “I’m pretty independent and used to being by myself and doing stuff for myself. But he always was going to be home. Now, he’s not.

“I guess I’m just lucky for the time I got with him.”

The Yoakums moved to Coffee Springs in 2001 after three years in Germany. CWO Yoakum taught a maintenance test pilot course in nearby Fort Rucker before he was deployed to Iraq in September 2006.

DVIDS
By Spc. Nathan Hoskins
1st Air Cavalry Brigade Public Affairs
When most Soldiers receive recognition for acting gallantly in battle, many respond with “I was just doing my job.” Some don’t get that chance.

While many gave their lives to help a country become stable, none should ever be forgotten. And that is the hope of the family and unit of Chief Warrant Officer Keith Yoakum, one of four AH-64D Longbow Apache Helicopter pilots from the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, who have sacrificed everything for the safety of others.

On Feb. 2, Yoakum and his co-pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Jason DeFrenn, both of Company A, 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, began taking fire from enemy on the ground. Their wingmen, in another aircraft, were being hit as well. But instead of heading to safety, Yoakum and DeFrenn stayed in the fight to help protect their wingmen, said close friend and Van Buren, Ark., native Chief Warrant Officer Chris Elkins, a fellow pilot and the production control officer for Company D, 1-227th Aviation.

“I think that what happened that day – they got caught in a bad situation,” he said.

About a month after Yoakum perished in battle, his twin brother Kevin Yoakum, decided to memorialize him with a killed in action bracelet, said Yoakum’s commander, Thomasville, Ga., native Capt. Lee Robinson, commander of the Company A “Avengers,” 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment.

“I had talked to Keith about the bracelets before he deployed. I gave him information to get one honoring his friend,” said Kevin, who resides in Enterprise, Ala. Keith’s friend, a fellow Apache pilot had been killed in action, April 1, 2006. “I think we were both in agreement that the bracelet is a great way to honor the fallen.”

Although Keith felt the bracelets were a relevant and significant way to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, those who knew him well felt he would have made fun of the idea of one being made for him, said Elkins.

“His personal opinion would be that he didn’t deserve [to be memorialized], but he’s touched every one of us,” Elkins said. “It’s the least we can do for somebody that gave the time that he’s given to everyone of us.”

Yoakum made a significant impact in every life he touched, said his usual co-pilot, Palisade, Col., native Chief Warrant Officer Brian Carbone, a pilot for the Avengers.

“Keith was my mentor, my teacher and my really good friend,” Carbone said. “He was the hardest working man I ever saw, and his passion for the job and being a pilot and flying was contagious. It affected everyone around him.”

Originally, Kevin made the bracelets for himself, his siblings, his parents and Keith’s family. But he then decided to send the design to Keith’s longtime friend Elkins.

The company who made the bracelets, provided Keith’s wife and two daughter’s their bracelets for free, said Kevin.

The bracelets, made of titanium, have the pilot’s names and the date they gave their lives, along with an Apache helicopter on one side and crossed sabers on the other, said Robinson.

Once Elkins got the design, he spread the word throughout 1-227th and the 1st “Warrior” Air Cavalry Brigade and soon numerous orders were taken, Robinson said.

Kevin wanted anyone who knew and loved Keith to have the opportunity to wear the bracelet. It signifies the importance of never forgetting the sacrifices made by Soldiers in combat, he said.

“Our country wouldn’t be what it is if it wasn’t for people standing up and fighting for it,” Carbone said. “All of us, even me, owe everything we enjoy to guys like that.”

“He didn’t have to come here. He had already been accepted to go fly for the Golden Knights [the Army’s parachute team] which is obviously a cherry assignment for anybody to do,” Robinson said. “But he turned it down. The reason he did was because he felt he was needed out here.”

“Keith had told me that he needed to be there, that just having his Apache in the air over the guys on the ground made all the difference in the world,” his brother said. “Someone has to be there to watch over those kids. He thought that protecting the ground guys was worth the risk.”

Even though Soldiers wear the bracelets with solemn pride and respect, it still is a daily reminder of friends lost, partners forever gone … mentors never to return, said Carbone.

“Some of the fondest memories I have of my life are flying with [Keith] out here. It was a great experience,” said Carbone, choking back tears. “As far as the bracelets go, they look nice, but I hate looking at it. I wear it for [Yoakum and DeFrenn]. I wear it for them, because – even though it hurts to look at – it’s a reminder of their friendship.”

Yoakum and Defrenn are heroes to those who knew them. Although they are gone, they will not be forgotten, Elkins said.

“The issue of whether they’re heroes or not – they are absolutely heroes,” said Elkins. “[People] owe their freedom and the things they sometimes take for granted every day, to these two and those who passed before them. They were absolutely wonderful Americans.”

“They lived extraordinary lives and the way that he died was no surprise, because that’s just the kind of people both of these guys were,” said Robinson. “You won’t find finer people anywhere in the country. It’s a shame that sometimes our country’s best have to give it all to keep going what we have going, but they were ready to make that sacrifice.”

The Avengers continue to fly 24-hour operations throughout Baghdad, providing critical combat support to coalition forces.

And here’s the media attention to this heroic story: