CW3 Corey J Goodnature ~ Night Stalker

CW3 Corey J. Goodnature

Chief Warrant Officer Three Corey J. Goodnature died June 28, 2005, in eastern Afghanistan when his MH-47D Helicopter was shot down by enemy fire during combat operations.

He was born Feb. 13, 1970 in Minnesota. Chief Warrant Officer Three Goodnature graduated from the University of Minnesota with an Associate's Degree in Aerospace Engineering in 1991, and joined the Army in October of 1991. He served as a parachute rigger at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He attended the Warrant Officer Basic Course at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Upon graduation from Flight School in 1995, Chief Warrant Officer Three Goodnature’s first assignment was flying UH-1s in Korea. In 1996 he was assigned to Camp Wheeler, Hawaii. He assessed for the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) in 1998 and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) at Hunter Army Air Field, Georgia as an MH-47D Chinook pilot.

Chief Warrant Officer Three Goodnature's military schools include: the U.S. Army Rigger’s Course, Warrant Officer Advanced Course, U.S. Army Instrument Examiners Course, the Electronic Warfare Officers Course, the CH-47D Aircraft Qualification Course, the Special Operations Training Course, Airborne School, the Air Assault Course, and Survival Evasion Resistance Escape Course and the CH-47D Instructor Pilot Course.

His awards and decorations include: the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal, the Overseas Service Ribbon and the Senior Army Aviator Badge, the Airborne Badge, the Air Assault Badge and the Rigger Badge. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, the Air Medal with “V” device, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Combat Action Badge.

He is survived by his wife Lori of Savannah, Georgia; and two sons, Shea and Brennan, of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.


Tribute from the Night Stalker site.

To read all of the tributes, please click here.