Fort Bragg skydiving team remembers air show accident victim

The Golden Knights and others on the sprawling North Carolina base held a memorial Wednesday for Master Sgt. Corey Hood. He was buried in his suburban Cincinnati, Ohio, hometown on Saturday.

Hood died when a stunt he was performing with other members of the Army Golden Knights and the Navy Leap Frogs parachute team went awry earlier this month. Hood collided with a Navy skydiver and was knocked unconscious, then slammed into an apartment building before falling to the ground.

The 32-year-old was a veteran of five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and earned numerous awards, including two Bronze Stars.

"It's hard to say how much all of us will miss him," said Sgt. Kevin Presgraves with the Golden Knights. "Corey was such a positive person and wouldn't want us to be sad today. If he were here, he would tell us to cheer up and smile and remember all the great memories we made."

Sgt. Shelby Bixler was one of Hood's closest friends and said he had personality that was unstoppable.

"The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Corey is just his smile," Bixler said. "How infectious he was as a leader and how I can feel him. I can feel him thriving through all of us here on the team."