Army Sgt. Tracy was assigned to B Company, 5th Battalion, 158th Aviation, Aviano Air Base, Italy. Tracy was killed when his Black Hawk helicopter crashed in a sandstorm during training. The crash happened around midnight when the chopper flew into the ground from 100 feet because of the sandstorm. The accident occurred because the pilots were not warned by the control tower that sandstorm clouds had drastically dropped in altitude. Tracy's helicopter was training to drop soldiers into Iraq in the days leading up to the invasion. William graduated from Merrimack Valley High School in 1993 and spent one semester pursuing his love of art at a local school before enlisting in the Marines eight years ago. After four years, he returned home for a short time before joining the Army to fly helicopters. He was a crew chief, meaning he fixed the aircraft on the ground and helped pilots navigate in the air. William was a soldier to the core, volunteering for every mission. He disliked garrison life and loved deployments, which is why he went on so many missions. Deployments ranged from Atlas Drop, Tunisia; Flintlock, Mali; Strong Resolve, Norway; Lariat Response, Hungary; Victory Strike III, Poland; and Enduring Freedom, Kuwait. He loved to travel and rarely stayed home on weekends. He wanted to be a noncommissioned officer and was just shy of qualifying. He hadn't been home since Christmas 2001, but he remained close to his family through e-mail and long telephone calls. He loved meeting people from around the world and brought toys and gifts with him so they would think well of the United States and its soldiers. William was a happy go lucky guy who loved to fish and always had a fascination with flying. His mother kept a phone message he left her on her answering machine before he shipped out from Germany. In the message William told her not to worry because he was going to a warm, sunny place.