Police have identified the four servicemen who died in Midland, Texas when a freight train plowed into a parade float carrying wounded veterans and their spouses at a crossing, two of whom saved their wives by pushing them to safety before they died. 
 
 Army Sgt. Maj. Gary Stouffer, 37, and 47-year-old Army Sgt. Maj. Lawrence Boivin were pronounced dead at the scene, police said, after the float carrying wounded veterans and their families to an honorary banquet was struck by a Union Pacific train around 4:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon. The train struck as the parade was crossing the tracks, turning the honorary event into a scene of destruction. 
 
 Army Sgt. Joshua Michael, 34, and 43-year-old Army Sgt. Maj. William Lubbers were transported from the scene and later pronounced dead at Midland Memorial Hospital, according to the Midland Police. 
 
 Seventeen people in all were transported to the hospital and 10 were treated and released. Four people were in stable condition and one is in critical condition as of this morning. 
 
 Michael was killed in the crash but was able to save his wife, his mother-in-law told the Amarillo Globe-News. 
 
 "He pushed his wife off the float -- my daughter," Mary Hefley told the newspaper. "He was that kind of guy. He always had a smile on his face. He would do for others before he would do for himself." 
 
 Hefley said Michael retired from the Army due to health reasons. 
 
 According to a website set up by Cory Rogers, a friend of Michael's family, the father of two completed two tours of duty in Iraq, and received two Purple Hearts after being wounded in combat. 
 
 "His love of country and for his wife, Daylyn and their two children shone through," his family said in a statement on the site. "The family appreciates everyone's thoughts and prayers in this very difficult time." 
 
 Sgt. Maj. Boivin also pushed his wife out of the way before he was hit, Jaime Garza told ABC News. He said that his wife was hurt in the crash, but survived. Boivin died in his arms, Garza said. 
 
 Garza said that he and his wife Denise lost their son in Afghanistan seven years ago. On Thursday, they were driving in a separate car about a block away, helping escort the floats. 
 
 "I looked in my rear view mirror. That's when I saw the train hit the float," he said. "I made a quick U-turn to get back up there. The first person who was there was Lawrence. I had to help him out ... and he gave me his last breath ... He actually pushed [his wife] off the float and then he got hit." 
 
 Denise Garza said that the entire incident happened very fast. 
 
 "Everybody was getting help in two seconds. Everybody had help. It was like the best response," she said. "It was terrible. The worst thing I've ever seen in my whole life." 
 
 About two dozen veterans and their spouses had been sitting in chairs on the back of a flatbed tractor-trailer decorated with American flags and signs identifying each veteran. 
 
 The first truck crossed the tracks in time, but the second did not, according to Hamid Vatankhah, a witness who owns a used car lot near the scene of the crash. 
 
 Sirens from the police cars in the parade may have drowned out the sound of the approaching train, Vatankhah said. 
 
 The impact, witnesses say, was deafening as the train plowed through the parade float crossing the tracks in an industrial part of Midland. 
 
 "Some people were able to jump, and some that were sitting in wheelchairs on top couldn't do nothing about it," Vatankhah said. 
 
 Patricia Howle was sitting traffic with her daughter watching the parade go by when she heard the train honking its horn. 
 
 "I just saw people going under the train," said eyewitness Eservando Wisler. "There was blood. There was blood all over." 
 
 A Union Pacific spokesman, Tom Lange, said it appeared safety devices at the crash site were working. But there were conflicting reports by eyewitnesses about whether the gates went down at the crossing when the train approached. 
 
 "I saw the truck crossing the tracks. About halfway across the gates started coming down. The truck tried to blow his horn to get the other people in front of him out of the way. The gates actually hit the first people on the trailer," witness Michael Briggs said. 
 
 "Our preliminary findings indicate that the lights and gates were working at the time of the incident and that our train crew sounded the locomotive horn," said Lange. ||||| Wounded U.S. military veterans leapt for their lives just before a freight train struck their parade in rural Texas, killing four veterans and injuring 16, and federal officials rushed to the scene Friday to piece together why it happened. 
 
 Midland police, fire and sheriffs respond to an accident where a trailer carrying veterans in a parade was struck by a train crossing in Midland, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. "Show of Support" president... (Associated Press) 
 
 Parade participants react after a trailer carrying wounded veterans in a parade was struck by a train in Midland, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. "Show of Support" president and founder Terry Johnson... (Associated Press) 
 
 This undated family photo provided the Show of Support, Hunt for Heroes committee shows Sgt. Maj. Lawrence Boivin, 47, one of four veterans killed when a parade float he was riding on was struck by a... (Associated Press) 
 
 This undated family photo provided the Show of Support, Hunt for Heroes committee shows Army Sgt. Joshua Michael, 34, one of four veterans killed when a parade float he was riding on was struck by a freight... (Associated Press) 
 
 This undated family photo provided the Show of Support, Hunt for Heroes committee shows Sgt. Maj. Gary Stouffer, 37, one of four veterans killed when a parade float he was riding on was struck by a freight... (Associated Press) 
 
 Parade participants and public safety officials huddle after a trailer carrying wounded veterans in a parade was struck by a train in Midland, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. Authorities say four people... (Associated Press) 
 
 Hundreds gather early Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, in Midland, Texas, some holding flags, for a prayer service to honor and pray for all those involved in the incident on Thursday where four veterans were killed... (Associated Press) 
 
 This undated family photo provided the Show of Support, Hunt for Heroes committee shows Sgt. Maj. William Lubbers, 43, one of four veterans killed when a parade float he was riding on was struck by a... (Associated Press) 
 
 About two dozen veterans and their spouses had been sitting on the parade float, set up on a flatbed truck decorated with American flags. Many seemed to panic as the train's horn blared, said Patricia Howle, who was waiting in her car at a nearby traffic light. 
 
 "I was on the phone, and I just started screaming," she told The Associated Press after Thursday afternoon's crash. "The truck was on the other side of the train, but I did see the panic on the faces of the people and saw some of them jump off." 
 
 Police said the first truck with veterans safely crossed the tracks, but the second truck's trailer was still on the crossing as the Union Pacific locomotive approached. 
 
 The U.S. marked Veterans Day earlier this week, and the parade was part of an event to honor wounded veterans. 
 
 The scene just after the crash reminded Sudip Bose, a doctor and front-line physician in Iraq who had been volunteering at the parade, of war. He said veterans were already tending to the wounded with limited medical supplies when he arrived. 
 
 "Instincts kicked in. They were applying tourniquets, holding pressure to the wounds." Bose said. 
 
 Police on Friday confirmed that all four of the dead were veterans. Midland city police spokesman Ryan Stout said 37-year-old Sgt. Maj. Gary Stouffer and 47-year-old Sgt. Maj. Lawrence Boivin were pronounced dead at the scene and 34-year-old Army Sgt. Joshua Michael and 43- year-old Army Sgt. Maj. William Lubbers were pronounced dead at a hospital. 
 
 A preliminary investigation indicated the crossing gate and lights were working, said Union Pacific spokesman Tom Lange, though he didn't know if the train crew saw the float approaching. 
 
 "There is going to be a very thorough investigation," Lange said. "It's obviously a very tragic incident." He said the train crew did not sustain any injuries but would be offered counseling. 
 
 Six people remained hospitalized Friday, including one in critical condition. Ten others were treated and released. 
 
 "The train honked its horn, but the 18-wheeler could not go anywhere because of the other one being right in front of it. It was a horrible accident to watch happen right in front of me," said Daniel Quinonez, who was in traffic that had been stopped to allow the parade to pass. "I just saw the people on the semi-truck's trailer panic, and many started to jump off the trailer. But it was too late for many of them because the train impacted the trailer so fast." 
 
 Pam Shoemaker said she and her husband, a special ops veteran, were on the float ahead of the one that was struck. She said they heard the train coming but had heard no warning before that. They jumped from the float just as crossing barriers had just started to come down. 
 
 Her husband, Tommy, resuscitated one person and applied a tourniquet to a bleeding woman. 
 
 "They are trained for tragedy," Shoemaker said. 
 
 The event was organized by Show Of Support, a local veterans group. Its president, Terry Johnson, did not immediately return an email for comment and his phone number was unlisted. The phone rang unanswered at the group's offices. 
 
 The chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, Deborah Hersman, said Friday on NBC that the train was equipped with a forward-facing camera whose footage could help in the investigation. 
 
 "That will give us some video images if it survived the crash, and we can download it, as well as recorders on the train," Hersman said. "We're going to be looking at the signals ... and making sure that the gates and lights were coming down." 
 
 Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta "was deeply saddened by news of the tragic accident involving veterans heroes and their spouses in Midland," Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement. 
 
 At a prayer vigil Friday morning, Mayor Wes Parry's voice cracked as he described how he had met Boivin, one of the victims, and his wife a day earlier. 
 
 "It's hard to believe today that he's not here anymore," Parry said. 
 
 Federal records show 10 previous collisions at the same railroad crossing. 
 
 Records reviewed by The Associated Press from the Federal Railroad Administration show that five cars and five trucks have been struck by trains or rail equipment there since 1979. Six drivers were injured, but there were no fatalities. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Terry Wallace reported from Dallas. Associated Press writers James Beltran in Dallas and Joan Lowey in Washington contributed.
– Two of the military veterans killed in yesterday's horrific train accident in Midland, Texas, died saving their wives, reports ABC News. Witnesses say Army Sgt. Joshua Michael, 34, and Sgt. Maj. Lawrence Boivin, 47, pushed their wives to safety but were unable to escape themselves as the train bore down on the parade float at a crossing. Also killed were sergeant majors Gary Stouffer, 37, and William Lubbers, 43. Michael, a Purple Heart recipient, "pushed his wife off the float—my daughter," Mary Hefley tells the Amarillo Globe-News. "He was that kind of guy. He always had a smile on his face. He would do for others before he would do for himself." Witness Jaime Garza said he got to the scene just after impact, and Boivin died in his arms. "He actually pushed (his wife) off the float, and then he got hit." Sixteen people were injured in the crash, and one remains in critical condition. The investigation continues, but authorities say the crossing gate and lights appeared to be working, reports AP. The float was behind another truck at the crossing and couldn't move out of the way.