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For Norton and other residents living outside the Thurston County town of Rainier, the boom of artillery and roar of aircraft is as unremarkable as the tall evergreens and small farms that surround these vast grounds.
“It’s very normal,” he said. “It’s nothing extraordinary.”
Norton was saddened to learn about Monday night's deaths of four Army aviators about two miles from his home. The Army had not released the soldiers' identities early Tuesday afternoon, nor the cause of the accident nor whether the two Kiowa helicopters collided.
When he heard the news on television, Norton's thoughts leaped to the loved ones left behind.
“I feel sad for the families because I lost a grandson in Iraq. … This is Christmas and I’m sure they had children.”
Army Sgt. Justin Norton, 21, who grew up in Rainier, died in June 2006. His death reverberated through this close-knit community of 1,700. He’s the son of Jeff Norton, a Thurston County sheriff’s deputy, and stepson of Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock. More than a year later, the city dedicated a veterans memorial located between state Route 510 and a popular biking and walking trail.
Monday's crash site rests a few hundred meters east of Rainier Road, which thousands of drivers use daily to commute between Rainier and the greater Olympia area. The road is popular with cyclists during the summer because of the hilly route and scenery.
Beverly Conway and her husband raise quarterhorses on a 10-acre farm on Military Road, located off Rainier Road about two miles south of the crash site. She gets permission to ride on the training grounds but is occasionally stopped by range control to check her identification. She said others use the grounds to walk their dog.
Conway said she waves to the airplanes and helicopters flying overhead and watches paratroopers float to the ground.
“My grandkids always count them when they jump out,” she said.
She said she always knows when a unit is headed to war because the number of flyovers increase.
Conway said she didn’t hear a crash but heard some sirens Monday night. When she heard about the crash on television, she initially thought they had died overseas.
She was taken aback when she learned that it occurred close to her home and thought about the timing of the loss during the holidays.
“You know they’ve got families somewhere,” she said.
Joycelyn Zambuto, owner of Main Street Cookie Company in Rainier, said soldiers often stop in for a treat while getting a haircut for themselves or their children, or running other errands. Many military families live along the state Route 507 corridor, including in fast-growing Yelm, she said.
“This is a military community,” she said.
Zambuto hadn't heard about Monday's crash until told by a reporter.
“I kind of takes thoughts away from your own problems,” she said.
