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Sgt. Tane T. Baum was always smiling and always there for his fellow soldiers.
"He was my friend, my brother and hero," Sgt. Steve McDaniel, 26, said. "We flew together, we were bunkmates, it was our bird that went in. That makes it really hard."
Baum died Sept. 25, 2005, in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Baum was flight engineer on the helicopter when it crashed, killing four other soldiers including the 22-year-old co-pilot from Pendleton, Warrant Officer Adrian B. Stump.
Baum went to school in Pendleton and Athena, where he was active in soccer, cross country and basketball. He graduated from Weston-McEwen High School in Athena in 1993 and worked at Hill Meat Co., Fleetwood, and Eastern Oregon Fast Freight before joining the Oregon Army National Guard in December 1995.
Heights made him nervous, but he loved to fly anyway, said Pastor Kenny Harrington of the Table Rock Fellowship in Medford, who officiated at the memorial and graveside services.
"He was doing what he wanted to do, and that was fly helicopters, but he would rather be home than fight in a war," said Roseann Mulkey of Pendleton, his sister-in-law. "He was a brave man. You can't get much braver than flying a helicopter in war." He is survived by his wife, Tina, and sons Dyllan Kristopher, 6, and Caelan Shane, 3.
