A Twin Cities native, an officer from North Dakota and two other soldiers died Monday when two Army helicopters crashed at a base in Washington state.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Lucas Sigfrid, 32, a Champlin Park High School graduate, was killed in the crash at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, said his cousin Mark Duclos.
"We were like best friends," Duc- los said. The cousins' wives are both pregnant, Duclos added, and "we were just talking last week ... about if we're going to have boys and they would grow up like us. We were just hellions."
Sigfrid also attended St. Cloud State University for pilot training before joining the Army, Duc- los said.
Sigfrid's former high school wrestling coach, Bill Maresh, said he wrestled all four years of high school and wasn't a champion but a good guy who was dedicated to the sport and his team.
While other wrestlers might quit after two years if they're not successful, Maresh said Sigfrid stuck with the program.
"He was just one of those guys who kept coming, and he fought as hard as he could all the time," Maresh said.
Base spokesman Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield said that Sigfrid had served on active duty since May 2008, was assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in January and had yet to serve overseas.