Keith Heidtman, 24, of Norwich, Conn., was one of two soldiers killed when his helicopter came under enemy fire in a province north of Baghdad on Memorial Day. He was assigned to the 2-6 Calvary Squadron at Schofield Barracks. AP Photo/The Norwich Bulletin   Chief Warrant Officer Theodore U. Church, 32, of Ohio, was also killed in Monday's crash in Iraq. He was also based at Schofield. U.S. Army

1st Lt. Keith N. Heidtman, 24, of Norwich, Conn., and Chief Warrant Officer Theodore U. Church, 32, of Ohio, died Monday in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, when their OH-58D Kiowa helicopter crashed after receiving heavy enemy fire during combat operations, the DOD said.

They were assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division.

Heidtman was the 37th military member with Connecticut ties to die since the war began in 2002. Two Connecticut civilians have also been killed.

"It's all a shock to us," said Chris Heidtman, the soldier's uncle.

His parents were notified Tuesday morning. He was the son of Kerry Heidtman and Maureen Robidoux. His stepfather is Art Robidoux.

A Norwich Bulletin article quoted Heidtman's stepfather on the loss of their son: "The family, while devastated by the loss, is proud of his service to the country. His perspective on life was pretty good. He had focus. He had drive. He did what he thought he could do best. He died for it."

MAY IS THIRD-DEADLIEST MONTH OF WAR FOR U.S TROOPS

As of late Tuesday, there were 113 U.S. deaths in Iraq so far in May — trailing only the 137 in November 2004 and the 135 in April 2004.

Eight of the soldiers were from Task Force Lightning — six killed when explosions hit near their vehicles and two in a helicopter crash.

Brig. Gen. Perry Wiggins, deputy director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military believes the aircraft was brought down by small arms fire, and that the roadside bomb that killed a response team headed to the crash site was not the newer, armor piercing explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, that have killed hundreds of U.S. soldiers.

Speaking to Pentagon reporters, Wiggins called the assault a "complex attack." But he also said the military continues to "adjust our flight maneuvering and our routes in order to not become predictable and in order to make it more difficult" for the enemy.

'THIS IS WHO YOU WOULD PICK' FOR YOUR SON

Heidtman was a 2001 graduate of Norwich Free Academy and a graduate of the University of Connecticut.

"If you had to pick your son, this is who you would pick. He was handsome, he was bright," Chris Heidtman said.

Heidtman arrived in Iraq in December and was scheduled to come home for leave in July.

"We're sending our finest, and we're losing them," Chris Heidtman said.

Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell ordered all state and U.S. flags lowered to half-staff in Heidtman's honor.

"Lt. Heidtman made the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, and he did so to protect the freedom that we so often take for granted," Rell said in a statement. "To have given his life on Memorial Day is especially poignant."

Funeral arrangements have not been announced.