The families of the two pilots killed this week when their helicopter crashed were proud of the soldiers' military successes even as they mourned the losses.

The men who died on Wednesday when their helicopter crashed at Wheeler Army Airfield were identified as Chief Warrant Officers Jonathan Bryce Millward of Chubbuck, Idaho, and Stanley Blane Hepfner of Hubbard, Ohio, the U.S. Army confirmed yesterday.

The men were flying an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior when they died in a "hard" landing on the airfield.

Family members from Idaho to Ohio were making funeral plans and reminiscing about their sons, brothers and friends yesterday.

Hepfner, known to his family and friends as Blane, "loved being a pilot," said his father, Stan Hepfner of New Jersey. "He was going to make a career out of the military."

Blane Hepfner's mother, Renee Tossert, said her home in Hubbard, Ohio was filled with well-wishers.

"He was well-loved," Tossert said. "He was very much an individual who loved his job. He is the hero that I have always wanted him to be."

In Idaho, Chubbuck Mayor Steve England served as the family's spokesman. Millward's friends set up a Facebook account for friends and family members to post comments about Millward.

"His family wishes to extend their gratitude to the communities of Chubbuck and Pocatello for their concerns and well-wishes," England said in a prepared statement. "They also wish to extend appreciation to the emergency response personnel who responded to the incident."

Neither families of the soldiers knew what caused the crash.

The military has said the accident is under investigation and a team from the Combat Readiness Center in Fort Rucker, Ala., will conduct an investigation.

Both men were assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 6th Calvary Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division.

The 28-year-old Millward joined the Army in 2006 and was assigned to Hawai'i last year.

The 29-year-old Hepfner enlisted in the Army as an infantryman in 1998. He was commissioned as a warrant officer in 2002. While enlisted, Hepfner was sent to Kosovo, Egypt and Iraq.

"He joined right out of high school," Stan Hepfner said. "When he enlisted, I was against it at first. But I am so proud of him. He went in as a nobody and worked his way up to warrant officer."

Millward, a graduate of Highland High School in 1999, participated in a church mission to Brazil in 2000 to 2002. When he returned, Millward attended Idaho State University but left to attend a civilian flight school in Ogden, Utah, where he receive his private pilot's license.

He was preparing to deploy to Iraq in August. He leaves behind his parents, two sisters and five brothers.

"We lost a talented man and a loyal friend," Jake McKee of Eastern Idaho wrote on the Facebook account. "His sense of humor was one of a kind. The last time I talked to him, he was so humble about his many accomplishments."