5-23-2025 4:47am

DC Crash Pilot

Memorial Day Ceremony To Honor Soldier Lost In D.C. Helicopter-Jet Collision

TIMONIUM, Md. — Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves of Great Mills will be among 10 fallen military service members honored during the 58th Annual Memorial Day Ceremony at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens on Monday, May 26, 2025, at 10 a.m. The public ceremony will be held at the Circle of the Immortals monument at 200 East Padonia Road in Timonium, Maryland.

Eaves, 39, was one of three U.S. Army soldiers killed in a midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Jan. 29, 2025. The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter he was piloting as part of a training mission collided with a commercial airliner, resulting in 67 fatalities, including all passengers and crew on both aircraft. He served with the 12th Aviation Battalion out of Davison Army Airfield, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

A Navy veteran who later became an Army aviator, Eaves served in the U.S. Navy from 2007 to 2017 before earning his wings in the Army. His military service earned him multiple commendations, including the Army and Navy Achievement Medals, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, and the Army Aviator Badge.

His name will be read during the ceremony alongside nine other Maryland service members who died in the past year while serving. The event will feature remarks from:

U.S. Congressman John A. Olszewski Jr.
Maj. Gen. Janeen L. Birckhead, adjutant general of the Maryland National Guard
Cmdr. Frank T. Goertner (Ret.), University of Maryland director for federal and veteran affairs

Attendees will observe Taps, a 21-gun salute, wreath presentations, and patriotic performances by the 229th Army Band and the Dundalk Sweet Adelines. Community groups, including the Patriot Guard Riders, U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps and others, will participate. A Maryland Army National Guard UH-72 Lakota helicopter will also be on display.

Ahead of the ceremony, volunteers will place 3,500 American flags on veterans’ gravesites on Saturday, May 24, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

“It is our great honor to host the annual Memorial Day ceremony. Each year, as we gather to honor and remember the service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice, our hearts are heavy but are also filled with gratitude as we pay our respects,” said Jack Mitchell, president of Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens.