Copter Pilot From Valley Killed During Somalia Raid : Combat: Army Chief Warrant Officer Raymond A. Frank was among 12 Americans who died last week during fighting in Mogadishu.

A highly decorated, 26-year Army veteran originally from the San Gabriel Valley was identified by Pentagon officials Tuesday as one of 12 American soldiers killed last week in Somalia.

Chief Warrant Officer Raymond A. Frank, 45, served as a helicopter pilot with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and was assigned to Ft. Campbell, Ky., Army officials said.

Frank, who survived a helicopter crash three years ago, was killed during an Oct. 3 raid on the Olympic Hotel in downtown Mogadishu. In that maneuver, 70 U.S. Rangers were pinned down by gunfire from 400 Somalia militiamen.

The militiamen, followers of fugitive warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid, downed one U.S. Black Hawk helicopter by gunfire and a second crashed. But Army officials gave no details of how Frank died.

Randy Haworth, 24, Frank’s nephew in Monrovia, said family members were too distraught to talk to reporters. “They’re trying to get through this and get it behind us with as little suffering as possible,” he said.

But Haworth added that family members wanted to express support for U.S. troops in Somalia. “They were doing their job. That’s what matters,” Haworth said of the soldiers who died or were injured in the action.

Frank is survived by his wife, Wilma, of Clarksville, Tenn., Army officials said. Frank’s mother, brothers and sisters live in the San Gabriel Valley, Haworth said.

There was a memorial service Wednesday at Ft. Campbell for three other soldiers who died in Somalia, but service arrangements for Frank were pending, Army officials said.

An experienced pilot and one of a limited number of Army personnel who held the specialized rank of warrant officer, Frank was injured three years ago in a helicopter crash during a training exercise at Ft. Chaffee in western Arkansas.

In that incident, five soldiers died and seven were injured when the tail rotor system on a $6.8-million Black Hawk helicopter failed. An Army investigation traced the failure to corrosion and two cracks in an aluminum washer.

According to the report, Frank and his co-pilot started an emergency procedure using overhead rotors to stabilize and land the craft, which had begun spinning uncontrollably. But because they were wearing night-vision goggles, they were blinded by the emergency lights from the helicopter control panel. The lights overwhelmed the goggles, which are designed for minimum light, the report said. But the report did not blame the goggles for causing the crash.

The helicopter crashed into a densely wooded hillside. Rescuers had to push through rugged brush for two hours to reach the crash site and then hike for another two hours to bring the injured and dead out, Haworth said.

“The only reason anybody lived was because of his mechanical skills,” said Haworth of his uncle’s actions in that accident.

Frank sustained a knee injury in the accident, according to newspaper accounts.

Frank grew up in the Pasadena-Altadena area and attended John Muir High School. He enlisted in the Army on Dec. 16, 1965, school officials said. He served three years in Vietnam and was stationed in Germany, Japan and other countries, Haworth said. Frank received 14 air medals during his career, Army officials said.