When Evan Waldman opened FlightRadar24 during severe flooding at his sons’ Missouri summer camp, he saw something that stopped him cold: Black Hawk helicopters circling the area.

“When I opened up the app and I saw, ‘Oh my gosh, the Black Hawks’ — knowing that they were picking up both Parker and Sawyer — that took my breath away,” Waldman said.

Missouri National Guard crews ultimately evacuated more than 200 children and staff from Camp Taum Sauk, including Evan’s sons Parker and Sawyer.

On Aug. 20, the Waldman family visited Sikorsky in Stratford to meet some of the employees behind the aircraft that helped bring them home. They toured the facility and joined Sikorsky Vice President and General Manager Rich Benton during the quarterly All-Employee Webcast to share their experience.

Evan Waldman, CEO of Essex Industries, and his sons Parker and Sawyer visit the Sikorsky offices in Stratford, Conn., Aug. 20, 2026.

The moment carried an unusual connection for Evan. As CEO of longtime Sikorsky supplier Essex Industries, he already knew the Black Hawk mission professionally. Suddenly, his own family was depending on it.

For Sikorsky employees, the visit offered a powerful reminder that the work done every day in engineering, manufacturing, quality, supply chain and sustainment extends far beyond the factory floor.

Parker and Sawyer, meanwhile, remembered the experience a little differently. After reuniting with their parents late that night, Evan worried the evacuation might have been traumatic.

Instead, he said, the boys ran to their parents with three words:

“That was awesome.”

Sawyer and Parker Waldman, sons of Essex Industries CEO Evan Waldman, visit Sikorsky Vice President and General Manager Rich Benton at the Sikorsky offices in Stratford, Conn., Aug 20, 2026. The boys were rescued by Missouri National Guard crews in Sikorsky-made Black Hawk helicopters when their summer camp flooded and they, along with approximately 200 other children and adults, had to be evacuated.

During the webcast, Benton presented Parker and Sawyer with Sikorsky President’s coins and thanked the family for sharing their story.

The Waldmans’ visit put a human face on a mission Sikorsky aircraft perform around the world every day.

Behind every aircraft are thousands of people. And behind every rescue is someone waiting for a loved one to come home.

For the Waldman family this summer, a Black Hawk helped make that possible.