Soldier with ties to Warrenville killed in Iraq

Phillip Brodnick, 25-year-old son of a police officer from south suburban Burbank, was among the 14 soldiers killed Wednesday when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in northern Iraq, the Associated Press reported today.

Brodnick's mother, Marian Stockhausen, lives in Warrenville. She met with military officials this morning.

The U.S. Defense Department told the Daily Herald none of the casualties have been officially listed.

Burbank Mayor Harry Klein said Brodnick lived in Burbank until he was 8 and then moved to the New Lenox area. He graduated from Lincoln-Way Central High School in 2000.

Brodnick is the son of police officer James Brodnick, said Police Chief Bruce Radowicz.

Klein said the southwest Chicago suburb's fire department will lover its flags to half mast until Brodnick's funeral.

The death toll from Wednesday's helicopter crash also included troops from Pennsylvania, California, Missouri and Ohio, according to news reports. Military officials say it appears mechanical problems and not hostile fire caused the crash.

The Black Hawk had just picked up troops after a mission when it crashed, said Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, a military spokesman in northern Iraq.

The 10 troops picked up were based at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, according to a statement by Col. Timothy M. Ryan, rear detachment commander of the 25th Infantry Division.