Keaau soldier killed in Afghanistan laid to rest with full military honors

BRIGHAM CITY, Utah — Hundreds of people in northern Utah including the Patriot Guard, military personnel and law enforcement officials attended the funeral service and burial of a 25-year-old Army helicopter pilot killed in a crash in Afghanistan.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kirk Fuchigami Jr. was one of two Army pilots killed in the Nov. 20 crash while providing aerial security to ground troops in eastern Logar Province outside of Kabul.

Fuchigami was laid to rest with full military honors Monday at Brigham City Cemetery including a 21-gun salute and a military aircraft flyover.

Officials say his widow and parents received the folded flags and spent casings from the 21-gun salute.

Fuchigami was a native of Keaau on the Big Island. His wife, McKenzie Norman, is from Utah.

Fuchigami was assigned to a 1st Cavalry Division aviation unit from Fort Hood, Texas. He graduated from Rancho High School in Clark County, Nevada, participating in its aviation program.

According to his obituary, he was one of the youngest people in the school’s history to get a pilot’s license.