Californians are among 14 killed in Iraq copter crash

When an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed Aug. 22 in northern Iraq, most news reports focused on the death of Cpl. Nathan Hubbard, 21, of Clovis, Calif. His eldest brother, Jason, 33, an Army sergeant, witnessed the aftermath of the tragedy from the air in another Black Hawk helicopter. A third brother, Jared, was a Marine lance corporal killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2004. He was 22. But two other Californians -- Matthew L. Tallman, 30, of Groveland and Jason Paton, 25, of Poway -- were among 14 troops who died when Nathan Hubbard’s helicopter experienced mechanical problems and plummeted to the ground in Multaka, north of Baghdad.