FALLEN SOLDIER'S SERVICES TODAY.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

A memorial ceremony will be held today for a Tujunga native who was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq, where he was serving with the U.S. Army National Guard in Alaska.

Chief Warrant Officer Chester William ``Chet'' Troxel died Jan. 7 when the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter he was piloting crashed near the northwestern Iraqi town of Tel Afar. Troxel was 44 and had served with his National Guard unit for two decades.

Troxel died with three other Alaska Guard soldiers and eight civilians as the chopper made its way from Mosul on a support mission for the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq, according to published reports. The military is still investigating the cause of the crash.

Born and raised in Tujunga, Troxel was a lifelong aviation enthusiast, family and friends say. When he was 16, he sold his GMC truck to help pay for flying lessons at Van Nuys Airport.

After graduating from high school in 1980, Troxel enlisted in the U.S. Army with school friends Dan Householder and Dave Henry.

Troxel later was stationed in Alaska, where he served with the National Guard for 22 years. On Sept. 5, Troxel and 56 members of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, were deployed to Iraq for a yearlong tour of duty to help support ground troops.

A resident of Anchorage, Troxel is remembered by friends and fellow guardsmen as a devoted family man whose life revolved around caring for his disabled wife and his children.

``From his tranquil outpost in Alaska to the war-torn stands in Iraq, Chet left his family and friends to serve with his brothers in arms, flying his Black Hawk helicopter supporting our ground troops in hostile land,'' his sister, Sylvia Gomez, said in a prepared statement. ``He was our brave soldier and proud to be an American.''

Troxel is survived by Sheree, his wife of 23 years; their two children, Hollis, 17, and Summer, 14, all of Anchorage; his mother Lois; and sisters Sylvia and Sarah, all of Tujunga.

After today's memorial service in Anchorage, Troxel will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery near Arlington, Va.