Gary Marc Farwell was a solider, but he wasn't a killer, his family said.
"He was such a generous person, never hit anyone, he was just kind and fun," said his mother, Louise Farwell. "He was kind with a big smile and big heart. He left a big hole."
The 39-year-old U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 and veteran of four tours of combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan died Wednesday. He was on a routine training mission with two other soldiers when his helicopter crashed in the woods near Mannheim, Germany.
The helicopter pilot had the rare skill of a soldier who could save lives as well as fight, said his brother, U.S. Army Sgt. Matt Farwell, based at Fort Monroe in Virginia. For example, in Afghanistan in April 2005, he helped rescue a small group of soldiers who had been ambushed in a deep, narrow valley.
Farwell was on a supply mission when asked to evacuate the men, according to an account of the rescue in The Patriot , an Army publication.
The valley was a sheer drop of about 1,000 feet and the walls were only 108 feet apart at the bottom -- about double the width of the Blackhawk's rotor blades.
"He wasn't afraid to take risks and hope for good rewards," Matt Farwell said.
Farwell was born in California, and his family moved to Orem in 1981. He lived in Utah for about eight years, graduating from the Waterford School in Provo. He was an Eagle Scout and served a two-year LDS Church mission in Boston before earning a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Utah. He enlisted in the Army after graduation in 1996.
Farwell served four tours, two in Afghanistan and two in Iraq, and was among the first soldiers in both countries. About a year ago, he was returned to his home base in Germany, where he got a job "flying VIPs," as his father put it.
On Wednesday, Farwell and two other soldiers were flying to pick up training hours when their UH-60 Black Hawk crashed in bad weather about 6:45 p.m., according to his father and an Army news release.
"No one knows," what happened, said his father, Gary Farwell. "He was on top of his game. He was well-rested and ready to go. It was just one of those things that happens."
No one survived the crash. Also killed were Chief Warrant Officer 2 Clayton M. Hickman, 32; and Spc. Matthew E. Clark, 25. All were based in Stuttgart, Germany.
No one on the ground was injured and the Army was still investigating the cause.
Farwell leaves behind his wife, Tawnya, and three children, ages 12, 8 and 3, along with his parents, two brothers, and a sister.
