42, of Alexandria, Va.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment, Maine National Guard, Bangor, Maine; died Aug. 27 in Kuwait City, Kuwait, in a noncombat incident.
PORTLAND, Maine — A soldier from Maine who served in the National Guard has died in Kuwait, military officials said Wednesday.
Staff Sgt. Jessica Wing, 42, of Glenburn, died Monday, the Department of Defense said. Officials said her death wasn’t related to combat, but they didn’t provide details on the circumstances.
Wing was a helicopter crew chief assigned to the 1st Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment out of Bangor. The unit provides medical evacuation to patients and military personnel using medically equipped UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
“The untimely and tragic loss of SSG Jessica Wing has deeply saddened and shocked all of us in the Maine National Guard and across the state of Maine,” Col. James Campbell, the acting adjutant general of the Maine National Guard, said in a statement.
Wing served in the guard for eight years and was on active duty in the Army for 11 years before that, according to the Maine National Guard. She was deployed to Haiti and Bosnia while in the Army and was sent to the Middle East three times while with the Guard.
Wing was not married and had no children, officials said.
Gov. Paul LePage said Maine “has lost a great soldier and a great Mainer.”
“We are forever indebted to her for her service to her state and to her country,” he said in a statement.
Funeral set for helicopter crew chief from Maine
The Associated Press
AUGUSTA, Maine — A Maine National Guard helicopter crew chief will be laid to rest this weekend in Augusta.
The funeral for Staff Sgt. Jessica Wing will be held Saturday at the Augusta Armory, followed by burial at the Maine Veterans Cemetery in Augusta.
The 42-year-old from Glenburn was on her third deployment when she died in what the military described as a noncombat incident in Kuwait. The Defense Department has not divulged details of the incident, which remains under investigation.
Wing served in the guard for eight years and was on active duty in the Army for 11 years before that. She was assigned to the First Battalion, 126th Aviation Medevac Company out of Bangor.
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Thank you, girl. Our family misses you. Xoxo
Until The Day We Meet Again
On March 23, 2015, Roberta Doe wrote —
Looking back on the March 6th, 2015 walk of the Summit Project volunteers with the University of Southern Maine, I am still in a place of quiet reflection. Prior to the trek, I talked with organizers to see if Jessica had a remembrance stone. Upon hearing that as of that date, she did not, I wrestled with wanting to honor her memory in some way.
She was a respected and loved comrade of a dear family friend. I learned of her and her loss of life through this friend, who was deeply wounded by Jessica’s death. Since there was no stone, I decided that I would carry a framed photograph of Jessica during the trek, while I also honored a friend’s son who was killed in Afghanistan.
During the days and weeks prior to the trek, I read about Jessica’s length and breadth of active and reserve military service and her multiple deployments. I heard from our family friend of her dedication to excellence and her desire to make sure that any equipment that she was part of maintaining was in excellent repair for her fellow servicemen and women.
I was able to share about Jessica’s service with other volunteers during the trek. I also got to speak with a soldier who was on the trek who knew her and was able to watch his countenance as he shared how he knew her was saddened by her death.
I am honored that my daughter and I were able to do the TSP trek and that I was able to honor Jessica’s memory and service in this way. I am please that TSP chooses to honor all military personnel who lose their life during active service. I was proud to be a part of keeping her memory alive through sharing a piece of her life story. It was also my honor to do this with my 18 year old daughter. Know that your family member is not forgotten and that her sacrificial service on our behalf is valued greatly. There are no words that can fully express our heartfelt sorrow for your loss.
Our group of 8 women was organized to hike the south ridge trail of Cadillac Mountain on July 6, 2017 on a glorious sunny day.
Several of us are from the greater Bangor area, and had requested Jessica’s memorial stone to carry. When we learned that there was no stone, we improvised. A stone was selected from her town of Glenburn, and each of us took turns carrying the unmarked stone up and down the trail. At the summit, our Glenburn resident shared Jessica’s impressive story, and we all signed a patriotic scarf that was later made into a bag for her stone. We hope that this is acceptable to the family and TSP because it was so important to us to be able to include and recognize Jessica Wing for her outstanding service and sacrifice to our country. We were proud of her accomplishments and felt strongly that our women’s hike should honor the bravery of “our sister” soldier.
We hope that others will carry the stone that we provided to TSP to honor and thank Jessica Wing for her service and sacrifice.
To the family and friends of Sgt Jessica Wing, I wish you a late but Happy Valentine’s Day. I never had the honor of meeting Jessica, but i too am from Glenburn and was deeply touched by her biography. My deepest condolences to you all. I want to thank her for her service and say she will never be forgotten. Her commitment to our county and it’s citizens will never be matched. Thank you!
To the Family and Friends of Staff Sargent Wing
I was given the great honor of carrying the stone for Jessica. I was able to complete a marathon while carrying the stone in her honor. Taking me just over seven hours I had time to reflect upon the weight I was carrying in my ruck. At times this weight felt as a burden. On this journey I was reflecting, and I remembered the weight I was carrying was in honor of someone who had gone before me. Not only carrying this weight, but carried our flag forward. On behalf of not just me, but a very grateful nation, Jessica carried this flag for almost twenty years. I myself have recently enlisted, and cannot explain my gratitude for someone who carried the flag for our nation for that long. As a legacy of her life, this stone represents not just the fighting spirit, but also a spirit of being a guardian. Learning of the selfless work Jessica did, as a crew chief is truly inspiring. Flying into to hostile situation in order to get soldiers off the battlefield and back to safety. As a crew chief you are responsible for a lot. Not only maintain the helicopter, but also are responsible for making sure everyone on board is safe, and in the helicopter properly. This job requires not only a sense of duty, but commitment to the safety and well being of others. These qualities are not only what made Jessica such a patriot and role model to her state, but as a role model to men and especially women all over this country.
Wyatt Grant Knopfke
Boston College Class of 2019
Boston College Football 15′-19′
Sworn in U.S. Army March 20th 2019
Tough Ruck April 14th 2019 – Boston Athletic Association, and National Park Service
Dear friends and family of Staff Sgt. Jessica Wing,
I had the honor of carrying Jessica’s Tribute Stone on the Ruck to Remember 60 to 60 over Memorial Day weekend. 60 miles of hiking and trails beginning from Harpers Ferry, WV and arriving at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day morning. I shared Jessica’s story along the way and her stone was passed to each of my teammates with a moment of silence to honor her. This was a truly humbling and empowering experience. Please know that Jessica’s commitment and service to our country will not be forgotten and that her memory lives on within you all as well as her Tribute Stone.
To the friends and family of SSgt Jessica Wing,
I was given the opportunity of carrying SSgt Wing’s stone. Prior to the hike, the supervisors of my unit discussed the importance and honor it was to remember our fallen soldiers. The importance of learning more than just the basic information and getting to know the individuals on some personal level. When I was given the name of SSgt Wing, I immediately started looking up information about her. One of the first things that I discovered was that she hadn’t yet had a stone but that did not stop individuals from finding a way to honor her memory. One group brought up her picture with them to honor her memory. Another group found an unmarked rock from her hometown in Glenburn, took turns carrying it, and at the summit a Glenburn resident shared her impressive story. SSgt Jessica Wing had a career with the army, both active duty and guard spending 23 years in uniform. She participated in many deployments; three to the Middle East, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kuwait. SSgt Wing had a huge impact on those that she interacted with. She was known for being the unit’s go to person. She was known also known as a mentor and “unofficial den mother” to the young soldiers in her unit. SSgt Wing expected the best from herself and those around her. One of her friends said: “She always demanded excellence of herself and the soldiers around her.” Her interests involved outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing. This experience allowed me the opportunity to learn about this amazing woman and the lasting impact she has.