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Natural causes cited in death of airman

A C-130 Hercules flight engineer deployed to the Persian Gulf died Sunday from natural causes after being taken to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

Dead is Tech. Sgt. Joey D. Link, 29, of the 39th Airlift Squadron, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. Military officials declined to say what led to Link’s death other than it was from “natural causes.”

Link was deployed to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing based at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, at the time of his death.

Link’s survivors include his wife, Windy, and their infant daughter, Rylee. He also leaves behind two sons, Jordan, 10, and Andrew, 7.

His hometown was Portland, Tenn.

In a November interview with an Air Force writer, the 10-year Air Force veteran said he decided to become a flight engineer because it gave him a direct role in the Air Force flying mission.

“I’ve always loved flying, so this is the perfect job for me,” Link said.

Before pinning on his flight engineer wings, Link served as a B-52 and B-1B crew chief and also did a tour as a recruiter.

Link’s family members are waiting for answers on why the healthy airman suddenly became ill.

His mother, Vickie Lovell, told WSMV-TV in Nashville that her son had flown to Iraq and back several times safely. But he became ill shortly after a trip to Africa.

“Friday night, they called us and told us he was on a respirator and it was bad. They were going to fly us to Germany,” she said, but they didnt make it in time.

The family still doesn’t know the cause of death and are waiting for the results of an autopsy.

“It’s not going to bring Joey back, but it will give us peace of mind to know,” she said.

The airman’s mother and stepfather said they were struggling with what to tell their young grandchildren about their father’s death.