Captain Marcus Alford, US Army

Army Captain Marcus Alford, 28, died of a non combat related accident on February 21, 2010 in Qayyarah, Iraq. Captain Alford was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 1st Squadron, 230th Cavalry Regiment, Tennessee Army National Guard in Louisville, Tennessee. Captain Alford died from wounds suffered when his OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter had a hard landing as a result of a helicopter systems failure. His family sued the makers of the helicopter and settled.

“One of the U.S. Army’s most advanced helicopters is unsafe and responsible for the deaths of two Tennessee troops, a lawsuit filed in Knox County Circuit Court claims. The suit alleges the failure of the Full Authority Digital Electronic Control (FADEC) system in a Kiowa OH-58D Warrior helicopter was a direct and proximate cause in the deaths of troops Marcus R. Alford Sr. and Billie Jean Grinder.” -Knoxville News Sentinel

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