The 35th Infantry Regiment Association salutes our fallen brother, CPL Nathan C. Hubbard, who died in the service of his country on August 22nd, 2007 in Multaka, Iraq. The cause of death was listed as Helicopter Crash. At the time of his death Nathan was 21 years of age. He was from Clovis, California.
The decorations earned by CPL Nathan C. Hubbard include: the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star,
He was a member of the Recon/Scout Platoon
Nathan C. Hubbard enlisted at age 19 while still grieving for his older brother, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Hubbard, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Ramadi in 2004. "He wanted to see the life that Jared had there in Iraq. It was a way he could show his respect," said a friend, Jena Brock. Hubbard, 21, of Clovis, Calif., was killed Aug. 22 when his helicopter crashed in Multaka. He was assigned to Schofield Barracks. "Nate thought a lot about bettering himself and other peoples' lives," said close friend Geryes Mansour. "If Nate were to speak through me he would have said 'Better yourself in your life.' Do it for him." Don Ulrich, his former principal, remembered Nathan, a 2004 graduate, as a happy-go-lucky student and junior varsity wrestler who made friends easily. In an interview before he left for basic training in 2005, Nathan said he knew the dangers but did not worry about dying. "My brother - my parents' son - will always be in our hearts, and we'll always remember him and we'll always think of him and all that, but we've got to move on, and that's what we are doing," he said. He is survived by his parents, Jeff and Peggy.
SF Chronicle Thursday, August 23, 2007
Grief counselors were dispatched to Buchanan High on Thursday, an all-too-familiar sight at a school that's lost five graduates in the Iraq war -- now including two brothers.
Residents of this Central California city were mourning the death of Cpl. Nathan C. Hubbard, 21, who was among 14 killed when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in northern Iraq on Wednesday, the Defense Department announced Thursday. It was the second tragedy for Hubbard's family, who lost another son to the war three years ago, family friends said.
Keith Butterfield said he became close to the Hubbards after his own son Tony -- also a Buchanan High graduate -- died in Iraq last year.
"There is nothing anyone can say to make it better, but it's good to know that there are other families that can help you cope," Butterfield said. "It's bringing up the feelings of everyone else's loss, but we will be there for them."
Hubbard's family was taking his death "very, very hard," said Clovis police spokeswoman Janet Stoll-Lee, who spoke on behalf of the Hubbards. The soldier's father, Jeff Hubbard, is a retired 30-year veteran of the police department.
The Hubbards lost Nathan's older brother, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Hubbard, to a roadside bomb in downtown Ramadi in 2004. A third brother, Jason, will be returning home from Iraq to be with his family, Stoll-Lee said.
The UH-60 helicopter went down during a nighttime mission in the Tamim province that surrounds Kirkuk, an oil-rich city 180 miles north of Baghdad, said Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, a military spokesman in northern Iraq.
He said facts gathered indicated it was almost certainly due to a mechanical problem and not hostile fire, although the final cause remained under investigation.
Nathan Hubbard was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, where the military said 10 of the soldiers killed in the crash were based.
Nathan and Jason Hubbard joined the Army together in 2005, shortly after their brother was killed. Their mother, Peggy, told the Fresno Bee in a 2005 interview that she believed Jason joined in part to protect Nathan after not being there to help Jared.
The brothers said at the time that they didn't worry about dying in the war.
"People are going to be hurt, and people are going to be killed," Nathan Hubbard told the Bee. "That is a reality you have to accept, but not dwell on."
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