Roll of Honor
David Ashton Cloe
Incident
Sergeant David Cloe, Staff Sergeant Terry Wright, Sergeant Bernard Blake, Sergeant Glen Wilson, Airman First Class Larry Hughes, and Airman Johnny Brock were killed when their UH-1F Iroquois helicopter crashed approximately 14 miles north of Wall, South Dakota.
All six Security Policemen were en route to begin the routine changeover of security personnel for guard duty at a local Missle Silo site. While en route, the pilot radioed dispatch at Ellsworth AFB that he was experiencing mechanical problems with the aircraft and would be making an emergency landing in a pasture to determine what was wrong. The pilot lost control of the aircraft while making the emergency landing and crashed on its right side, trapping the crew inside the aircraft, which became engulfed in flames. The pilot who was the lone survivor of the accident was able to escape through the pilot bubble and was rescued by another helicopter that was en route to the same missile silo to changeover security personnel.
All six Security Policemen were assigned to the 821st Military Police Squadron at Ellsworth AFB.
Sergeant Cloe was a United States Air Force veteran for two years.
Survivors
He was survived by his parents, brother, and sister.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-C9672E32- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Sergeant Cloe gave the United States Air Force Security Forces 2 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
David Ashton Cloe served in the Air Force before joining law enforcement.
Sergeant David Ashton Cloe is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In TX, 653 of 2,421 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27% of this state's fallen. That is 4 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At United States Air Force Security Forces, 28 of 41 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 68.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. David Ashton Cloe's cause is highlighted.
How David Ashton Cloe Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. David Ashton Cloe is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
40 officers from United States Air Force Security Forces are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
