Oklahoma soldier killed in Iraq

PURCELL, Okla. (AP) -- A Purcell soldier was killed when his helicopter crashed about 20 miles north of Baghdad, family members confirmed Tuesday.<br/><br/>Army Warrant Officer Steven Shephard, 30, was

Tuesday, June 28th 2005, 1:09 pm

By: News On 6

PURCELL, Okla. (AP) -- A Purcell soldier was killed when his helicopter crashed about 20 miles north of Baghdad, family members confirmed Tuesday.

Army Warrant Officer Steven Shephard, 30, was one of the two pilots aboard the AH-64 Apache helicopter that crashed in Mishada on Monday, his uncle, Earl Shephard, said.

"He was just a tremendous kid," Earl Shephard told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "He believed in what he was doing and was proud to be doing what he was doing.

"The family's taking it pretty hard."

Steven Shephard had been in Iraq since January, Earl Shephard said. His wife is expecting the couple's first child in September, Earl Shephard said.

A witness to the crash, Mohammad Naji, told Associated Press Television News he saw two helicopters flying toward Mishahda when "a rocket hit one of them and destroyed it completely in the air."

The Department of Defense could not confirm Shephard's death, but said the crash remains under investigation.