Iraq

Citrus High graduate dies in Iraq copter crash

Aaron Weaver, 32, a chief warrant officer based in Fort Bragg, N.C., was the son of Mike Weaver of Inverness and Kelley Weaver of Clearwater.

An Army Ranger who survived the 1993 battle of Mogadishu and was fighting cancer while serving in Iraq was one of the nine soldiers killed in a Black Hawk helicopter crash there, his family was told Thursday.

Aaron Weaver, 32, a chief warrant officer based in Fort Bragg, N.C., was the son of Citrus County Chronicle assistant production manager Mike Weaver of Inverness and Kelley Weaver of Clearwater, the newspaper reported. Survivors include his wife, Nancy, and daughter, Savannah, 1.

Weaver, himself an observer helicopter pilot, was a passenger on the Black Hawk flight. He was a cancer victim and was en route to Baghdad for a checkup, the Chronicle said.

The medivac helicopter, marked with a red cross, crashed early Thursday. An Iraqi witness said it was hit first by a rocket.

Weaver, a graduate of Citrus High School, had served in the Army for more than 12 years. As a sergeant, he was involved in the 1993 battle in Somalia's capital, a fight made famous by the book and movie, "Black Hawk Down." Weaver is mentioned in the book.

Weaver's brother, Ryan Weaver, is also a military helicopter pilot and is in Baghdad.

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