SNOHOMISH — Sgt. Burke Shelton has a shattered ankle, a broken shin, a compressed spine and various cuts and bruises, including stitches on his head.
But considering he was in the middle of the U.S. military’s single-deadliest incident since the war in Iraq began in March, that is good news.
Shelton, 30, of Snohomish was the crew chief on one of the two Black Hawk helicopters that collided Saturday over Mosul, Iraq, killing 17 soldiers and injuring five. One was reported missing.
Shelton was one of the fortunate five who escaped with their lives.
His mother, Diane Shelton, hadn’t seen or heard any news of the crash Saturday afternoon when the phone rang. She heard an unfamiliar voice.
"He said, ‘This is Major …’ something, then he said something else, I don’t know what it was," Diane Shelton recalled Monday afternoon from her rural Snohomish home. "Then he said, ‘Would you like to talk to your son?’ and my heart started again."
"You know what the two most beautiful words in the world are?" she added. " ‘Hi, Mom.’ "
Shelton, who spoke to his mother from an Army hospital in Germany, insisted he is OK.
"It’s just amazing," Diane Shelton said, recalling images of the wreckage. "It doesn’t even look like a chopper anymore. How could anybody get out of there?"
Shelton’s father, Robert Shelton, was sleeping that afternoon after working a night shift as an operations specialist for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"He woke to that terrible, but wonderful news," Diane Shelton said. "That’s how it feels. There’s elation, but underneath that we’re so sad for the others."
The sergeant told his parents that the helicopter was shot down, obviously not knowing about the collision.
"He was flying over the area where they were going to take in some special forces crew," his father said. "They didn’t even know there was another chopper there. He just heard a (loud noise), and the chopper went out of control."
Shelton’s parents haven’t seen their son in about a year. He’s normally stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, home of the 101st Airborne Division. He left for Iraq in March, and his parents have been on edge since.
"Every time we hear about a chopper going down, we get nervous," Robert Shelton said.
They have been able to stay in contact with their son almost daily since he got Internet access a few months ago. Each time a helicopter goes down, he usually sends a message to reassure them he’s alright.
The elder Shelton said he’s proud of his son, and the incident doesn’t deter his support for the invasion of Iraq.
"I feel sooner or later we were going to have to deal with Saddam," he said. "Better sooner than later."
Shelton told his parents he expects to stay in Germany for about three days before returning to Kentucky. The couple didn’t hesitate when asked when they’d go see him.
"As soon as we find out he’s back at Fort Campbell, we’re going," Robert Shelton said.
Diane Shelton added, "We’re gone. I’ll just give him a hug and hold him."
Shelton, who is divorced and has no children, enlisted in the Army in 1994, when he was 21, after living in Snohomish for about a year. His goal was to earn educational benefits and attend college after serving four years. But when the time came, he enlisted for a second tour, his father said.
Even before the accident, he’d talked about plans to get out of the Army in the coming year, when his second tour is over.
"We feel really badly about the 17 who lost their lives in this incident, as well as any other members of the military who have lost their lives," Robert Shelton said. "But we are very relieved that our son wasn’t one of them."
Reporter Victor Balta: 425-339-3455 or vbalta@heraldnet.com.
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