EVERGREEN, Colo. — The mother of a soldier killed during a training exercise last week remembered her son who followed his calling to serve.
Sgt. Cade Wolfe, 24, was one of five U.S. Army Special Operations soldiers who died when their helicopter crashed in the Eastern Mediterranean over the weekend.
His mother, Julia Molden moved to Evergreen with her husband about a year ago.
"We come from a military background and have all served in the military," said Molden, who served as an Army nurse at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
Wolfe grew up in Mankato, Minnesota, and joined the Army right out of high school, Molden said in a statement to 9NEWS.
"We knew he would always join the Army since he was young," Molden said. "We are proud of his service. He loved what he did and [was] proud to serve his country. It is so hard, but we know he died doing what he loved."
Wolfe enlisted in 2018 as a UH-60 repairer and served as an MH-60M crew chief. His awards and decorations included two Army Commendation medals and an Army Achievement medal.
Wolfe was aboard a UH-60 helicopter that went down during an air refueling mission as part of military training.
The four other service members aboard were Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen R. Dwyer, 38, of Clarksville, Tennessee; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane M. Barnes, 34, of Sacramento, California; Staff Sgt. Tanner W. Grone, 26, of Gorham, New Hampshire, and Sgt. Andrew P. Southard, of Apache Junction, Arizona.
The Associated Press contributed to the reporting of this story.
RELATED: Remembering the 'soldiers on skis': History Colorado honors legacy of 10th Mountain Division
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Latest from 9NEWS
9NEWS+
9NEWS+ has multiple live daily shows including 9NEWS Mornings, Next with Kyle Clark and 9NEWS+ Daily, an original streaming program. 9NEWS+ is where you can watch live breaking news, weather updates, and press conferences. You can also replay recent newscasts and find videos on demand of our top stories, local politics, investigations and Colorado specific features.
To download 9NEWS+ on Roku search for KUSA.
To download 9NEWS+ on Fire TV search for 9NEWS.