SSG Thomas "Tommie" J. Field

Hundreds of mourners attended the burial of Sgt. Thomas J. Field, 25, the crew chief on a Black Hawk shot down over Mogadishu Oct. 3. Small yellow ribbons adorned St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church in Lisbon, Maine, where he was buried with military honors.

"It was a true, hometown-hero funeral," says Georgie Asbury, Thomas Field's fiancee. "The streets were lined with people. The VFW and American Legion were out with their color guard."

Thomas Field, the youngest of three brothers, made friends easily, loved action films, country western music and ice hockey.

"This guy was perfect," his fiancee says. "He's from a wonderful community. Once I'd met his family, I realized why he was such a wonderful person."

Thomas Field was serving with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment when he died in Mogadishu. He also was a veteran of Operation Just Cause in Panama. He joined the Army in 1988 and graduated from Airborne and Air Assault schools.

During his Army career, he was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Air Medal with "V" device, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.