"Whirlwind romance. Swept me off my feet," Jeanette McMahon said yesterday.

Both were lieutenant colonels and Army helicopter pilots by training. She flew Chinooks and he flew smaller Kiowa Warriors.

The couple had three boys, ages 5, 11 and 14, who went to St. John Vianney School in Enchanted Lake.

"We shared everything. We shared careers, we shared a family," Jeanette McMahon said. "He was just such a supporting person to allow me to reach my dreams."

With Lt. Col. Michael J. McMahon's death in Afghanistan in a plane crash last weekend, those memories — and the support Jeanette McMahon gets from the Army, family and friends — will have to carry the family through.

"He was our hero, he was our American hero, and we are very proud of him," Jeanette McMahon said.

The Kailua woman and Tracy Grogan — whose husband, Chief Warrant Officer Travis W. Grogan, 31, was among the three Schofield Barracks soldiers killed in the crash — met with reporters yesterday at Wheeler.

Five-year-old Ricky McMahon said he'll remember his father when he looks at the night sky because angels light up the stars.

"My daddy was on the airplane. It didn't fly in the right place. It crashed," the boy said. "Daddy's in heaven. Now he's an angel."

A prayer service was held at Schofield Barracks yesterday for the soldiers, who were killed when the CASA 212 airplane they were flying in Saturday went down en route from Bagram to Shinband in the mountains of Afghanistan.

Searchers reached the wreckage site Tuesday and found no survivors. Three civilian aircrew members also were killed.

Michael McMahon, 41, commander of the 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, was responsible for Task Force Saber in western Afghanistan. The task force also includes Company B of the Hawai'i Army National Guard's 193rd Aviation Regiment.

The Connecticut man is believed to be the highest-ranking military member with a Hawai'i-based unit to be killed in the war.

Spc. Harley D.R. Miller

Jeanette McMahon, her three boys huddled in front of her in matching red and white aloha shirts, said it helps having the "Army of One" around her at such a terrible time.

"A lot of people would always ask us how we managed the dual careers and the Army family has always worked with us, and is going to continue to work with us," said McMahon, who works with the U.S. Army Pacific command group at Fort Shafter.

Yesterday she received word of her promotion to full colonel.

"It would have been nice to share the promotion news with him," she said, adding, "I'll definitely have a lot easier time of it (the death) because of the strength of these three boys."

Chief Warrant Officer Travis Grogan, 31, is survived by his wife, Tracy, and two young children both under age 10. U.S. Army		Tracy Grogan said she doesn't need anything material for the holidays — "just prayers so that the kids can understand later." Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

"He was always the air crew (in the Navy), jumping out of the back of helicopters, but he wanted to fly, so the Army was an outlet," she said.

As part of the "Three-Quarter" cavalry, Grogan got "lots of flight hours, lots of nice friends, met lots of nice people."

"He loved his job and he loved to fly and he was OK (in Afghanistan)," his wife said. "We're a pretty strong family when it comes to deployments. You are prepared for deployments, but you are not prepared for this."

Tracy Grogan, who has a son and daughter, both under 10, said she found out on Saturday the airplane was missing.

"We just knew that they were missing and they were extremely late," she said. "That was probably the hardest part. We were just waiting for news."

"We heard all kinds of good news and we were very hopeful," she added. "He had a lot of training as a rescue swimmer, and was familiar with lifesaving stuff."

She last spoke to her husband on Thanksgiving. Grogan said she still plans on taking her children to Maine for Christmas. "We'll come back and stay throughout the school year and then probably move on," she said.

She added she doesn't need anything material.

"I guess just prayers so that the kids can understand later," she said.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.