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Chief Warrant Officer 3 William Timothy Flanigan

Family members described a National Guardsman from Milan who was killed Sunday July 2 2006 in Afghanistan as a beloved husband, father and son. Chief Warrant Officer 3 William Timothy Flanigan, 37, who was with the Jacksonbased 4-278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, was killed in an AH-64 Apache helicopter that crashed shortly after taking off from Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. Enemy fire has been ruled out in the crash, which is still under investigation. The soldier's father, William Thomas Flanigan, said Wednesday that he will remember his son, who was known as Tim, as a "straight arrow" and someone whose word "you could take to the bank." William Thomas Flanigan, who is trained as an aeronautical engineer, said he spoke with his son frequently during his deployment. He described learning of his son's death as "unreal." "At times you can accept it and at others, you can't believe it," he said in a telephone interview from his Indiana home. "He was a very vital person and he touched everyone's lives." Tim Flanigan was piloting the two-man helicopter and served as a Guard training instructor. He had flown since he was a teenager, his father said. "He probably knew (the Apache) better than the guys who built them," he said. His son's love of flying was paralleled only by his love of service, he said.Tim Flanigan had served 10 years in the Army and three years in the Tennessee National Guard. "The guy's just tremendously devoted to his country. He loves it and he's one of these guys who said if you didn't sacrifice for it, you didn't love it," his father said.Tim Flanigan didn't have to look far for role models. His father served in the Air Force, while his mo ther was an Army nursing officer. "He had super integrity," William Thomas Flanigan said of his son. "You could always go to the bank with what he told you. He was a very straightforward guy, even if it indicted him." Tim Flanigan, who had spent time overseas in Germany and Bosnia while in the Army, was a member of Company R of the 4-278th Armored Cavalry Regiment. He was deployed to the Middle East in January. He had enlisted in the Army in 1993, soon after he graduated from Indiana State University with a degree in aerospace technology and a professional piloting license. Tim Flanigan is survived by his wife, Cassie, daughter Meghan, 11, and son Brodie, 9. Family members plan to support each other as they cope with the loss, his father said. "Particularly Cassie and the kids," he said. "Tim had a commitment to excellence and a willingness to avenge for others," said Cassie Flanigan in a prepared statement. "As a husband and father, we were so blessed to have him. We will hold him dear in our hearts forever. He can never be replaced." Abby Little, leader of a family support group for Tim Flanigan's unit, said in a prepared statement issued Wednesday that the group was ''utterly devastated'' by news of his death. ''We will never be able to repay Tim or his family for the ultimate sacrifice they have made for our country,'' the statement said. ''Tim was a true American Hero and he will be deeply missed.''

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