Body of Schofield soldier flown to Delaware

The body of a helicopter door gunner from Schofield Barracks was returned to U.S. soil Sunday.

Army soldiers took the flag-draped coffin containing the remains of Spc. Richard A. Essex off a transport plane at Dover Air Force Base in Dela­ware.

Essex, 23, from Kelsey­ville, Calif., was one of seven U.S. troops killed when a Black Hawk helicopter from Schofield’s 25th Combat Aviation Brigade crashed Thursday in Kandahar province, Af­ghani­stan. Three Afghan soldiers and a translator also died in the crash.

The Santa Rosa Press-Demo­crat reported that Essex’s parents, Marion and Brett Hopkins of Kelseyville, flew to Dela­ware to meet the plane.

The family plans initially to hold a private service. A public military service will be held at 11 a.m. Sept. 1 at Kelseyville High School, Principal Matt Cockerton told the newspaper.

"He was a nice kid, a real positive kid," said Cockerton. "He was back here last year doing a recruiting assignment. He was very proud of what he’d accomplished."

Mayme Dyslin, Essex’s aunt, told the Lake County News in Northern California that her nephew was a "laid-back kid" who never caused problems. "He was just a free spirit," she said.

The soldier played the bass guitar and was an artist and published poet, Dyslin told the newspaper.

"He said he was doing good and he would be home in November," she said.