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Texas A&M University senior Jordan Vanicek says he is dreading returning to College Station without his friend when classes begin next week.
Vanicek said many people are probably thinking the same thing: It won't be the same without Zac Cook.
"It's going to be really tough," said Vanicek, who was in Corps Company D-1 with Cook. "We're going to have to try to figure out things we can do to commemorate him. ... We'd like to definitely make sure everybody knows how big a part he had in D-1."
The 22-year-old recently commissioned Army lieutenant was injured Monday when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed on the A&M campus. He died at St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Bryan.
Also injured in the crash were Texas Army National Guard members Lt. Ellis Taylor of Buda, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Matthew Smith of Leander, Sgt. Richard Ravenscraft of Austin and Sgt. Charles Mitts of Spring, who were taken to area hospitals following the accident.
Smith, 41, was transferred Monday to a San Antonio hospital, where he remained in critical condition Tuesday. Mitts, 42, was transported Tuesday to Houston's Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he remained in critical condition.
On Tuesday night, officials said, Taylor, 31, was in fair condition at College Station Medical Center, while Ravenscraft, 24, was listed in critical but stable condition. Taylor attended Texas A&M from 1996-99, although he did not graduate.
Cook graduated from A&M on Dec. 12. Col Samuell Hawes, a Texas A&M professor of military science and head of the Army ROTC, said Cook was temporarily assigned to the Army ROTC program at A&M while waiting to attend officer training school.
On Monday, Cook was assisting with Rudder's Rangers members being shuttled to Camp Swift by helicopter. He was one of four Army lieutenants assigned to the exercise -- one on each Black Hawk.
"He was assigned on that helicopter so that any cadets that were on there, to make sure they were seated properly and observing all the safety requirements," Hawes said.
Cook had already completed two trips to Fort Swift, transporting about 20 soldiers to the camp about 70 miles away in Bastrop County.
Just after 3 p.m., officials said, the Black Hawk was headed to Easterwood Airport to refuel when the helicopter crashed on takeoff.
Hawes said he talked to Cook before his assignment.
"He was really excited. That was his first time to be on a Black Hawk since he was selected to be an Army aviation officer," Hawes said.
About 50 Rudder's Rangers were at Duncan Field waiting for their flight when the Black Hawk crashed, Hawes said, adding that his office was offering counseling to all of them.
"I've personally talked to every cadet, and I'll continue to do so," he said. "If they want to talk about it, we're obviously available to help them."
Hawes said Cook accomplished his three goals in life before he died: To be an Aggie, to be an Army officer and to fly helicopters.
That's something that Cook's lifelong friend Hall Henderson said made his family extremely proud.
Henderson said he visited Cook's family in Lufkin, where the two grew up, on Tuesday.
"No one knows how to react, but I think they're doing as good as you can," he said. "They're celebrating everything Zac accomplished and that he went down doing something he really loved."
Cook's older brother, David, is also a lieutenant in the Army. He graduated in 2006 from A&M, where he was in Company D-1 -- the same as his younger brother.
At the hospital on Monday after Cook died, Henderson said, Cook's father made a reference to his son's constant smile.
"Last night when he was at the hospital, he said, 'I guarantee you when [Cook] was going down he said, "Hold on boys it's going to be a fun ride," and he was smiling like a Cheshire cat,'" Henderson recalled.
Henderson, a graduate student at A&M, said he had known Cook "as long as I can remember." The two stayed in touch during college.
By Tuesday night, nearly 700 people had joined a Facebook group dedicated to Cook's memory.
Henderson said the hundreds of people who had come to the hospital or left messages for Cook's family were evidence of Cook's character.
"He had so many friends because he was that type of person. He didn't have an enemy in the world, and he treated everyone like they were his best friend," he said.
While a senior at A&M, Cook mentored Vanicek, who was a junior at the time, through the Army ROTC program. Vanicek, the commander of Cook's former Corps outfit, said he was excited when he was paired with one of the seniors he most admired two years ago.
He said Cook rarely raised his voice, but when he did, cadets knew it was serious.
"He was one of those guys that whenever he raised his voice, you were pretty scared about what you might have messed up on," Vanicek said. "Usually, whatever he said, you kind of listened to."
Vanicek said Cook was respected by his peers, partly because he never took out his bad mood on others and because of his humility.
"He never attracted attention to himself," Vanicek said.
Henderson said Cook lived like a soldier long before he was commissioned in the Army. He got up early, took care of his body and focused intensely on whatever he was doing. Henderson said Cook even had Lasik surgery so he could be a pilot.
Cook was afraid he wouldn't be accepted into the U.S. Army, but Henderson said that was just modesty.
People who knew how hard he worked knew there was no doubt he would be accepted. Most people recognized that Cook was full of potential, Henderson said. He set goals and would have achieved them.
"If I was going into battle, and I could take only one person with me, it would be Zac Cook. There's no doubt about it," he said. "He would have found one way or another to get it done."
