thedrifter
03-20-07, 07:35 PM
Service for four Marines emotional
By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON -- Eleven-year-old Sarah Landaker stared into the gray sky outside the chapel, overwhelmed as four helicopters roared in unison toward her. The child's face twisted in anguish as one of the choppers -- the one representing her uncle and his crewmates -- peeled off from the others.
Sarah's mother stood behind her, caressing her arm, kissing the back of her head, as the missing man formation, an aerial salute to fallen troops, passed overhead. The child, dressed in black, bit her lip and fought tears.
On Feb. 7, seven people, including four Camp Pendleton Marines, aboard a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter were killed when the helicopter was shot down in Iraq as it headed to a base north of Baghdad.
The flight nearly six weeks ago was supposed to be Sarah's uncle's last mission on his tour in Iraq. First Lt. Jared M. Landaker, a Big Bear native, was due to return to the states the following week.
On Monday, the fourth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion into Iraq, about 600 people gathered for a memorial for the four local Marines -- members of a squadron known as the Purple Foxes -- who perished on the flight.
The fallen Purple Foxes were Landaker, 25; Capt. Jennifer J. Harris, 28; Sgt. Travis D. Pfister, 27, and Sgt. James R. Tijerina, 26. All were assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton.
Also on board the helicopter that day were Petty Officer 3rd Class Manual Ruiz, 21; Petty Officer 1st Class Gilbert Minjares Jr., 31, and Marine Cpl. Thomas E. Saba.
Despite early reports the fiery crash that killed the seven troops might have been caused by mechanical failure, the Marine Corps has since confirmed that enemy fire caused the crash.
An insurgent group posted a Web video in February, showing what it said was the downing of a U.S. military helicopter. The two-minute video shows a helicopter that appears to be a Sea Knight flying and later exploding after being hit by an object trailing smoke, according to The Associated Press.
It remains unclear whether the chopper in the video was carrying the troops memorialized Monday.
The crash of the CH-46 was one in a spate of helicopter crashes in Iraq at the start of this year; many of them apparently had been shot down.
Since the start of combat operations four years ago, 3,210 U.S. service members have died in Iraq, according to the Department of Defense records as of Monday morning. According to records compiled by the Associated Press, at least 326 locally based Marines have died in the war since the invasion.
Chapel overflows with mourners
Members of the Purple Foxes squadron, which transports troops and equipment and evacuates casualties, returned to San Diego County just days ago. On Monday, not only did they fill the base chapel to capacity, but many more stood outside in the cold gray of the morning, watching the services on two large television screens.
As the chapel began to fill, former Marine Capt. Ryan Demik spoke of his lost comrades, their dedication, their skills, and the missions they flew. Missions over hostile land. Missions that would last for hours.
He also sang the praises of the crew chief, Sgt. Pfister, who Demik said flew on as many as 50 missions with him.
"If I knew he was flying on my plane, my stress level would go down immediately," said Demik, who spent nine years in the Marines before getting out last year. "The guy was that good."
On mentioning Capt. Harris, Demik immediately said the 28-year-old Marine was "a talented pilot" who once worked for him.
In a pew a few rows closer to the front of the chapel, Harris' neighbor called the pilot "a sweet, sweet woman."
"She was hilarious," said Elaine Forbes, 61, who lives in a Carlsbad condo upstairs from the one Harris owned. "Somebody helped me get on the Internet so I could sign her memorial book."
As crowded as the chapel was, it grew quiet as the service began.
"The past six weeks have been dark and difficult," Lt. Col. Sean Killeen, the commanding officer of the squadron, told the mourners.
Crew was transporting blood supplies
Killeen said the crew was on its way back from a mission to evacuate wounded people when it was diverted to the city of Balad to pick up "a much needed box of blood."
The helicopter came under fire, Killeen said, and tried to land in an open field.
After the service, Purple Foxes helicopter pilot 1st Lt. Garrett Litfin said it was his understanding that Marines sent out to the crash site couldn't help because the wreckage "was burning so hot, they couldn't get close to it." That, Litfin said, was "when it hit everybody real hard" that there were probably no survivors.
Each of the fallen Purple Foxes was eulogized by a comrade, and each eulogy was emotional, painful and heartfelt.
In telling the mourners about his best friend Pfister, Sgt. Brian Dinning chose to read from an open letter he wrote to Pfister after the sergeant's death.
"I have always felt small in your presence. I know it was your immense and magnetic personality that caused this," Dinning said. Later, his voice shaking, he continued, "I must be honest, Travis. I never saw this coming. Your presence was so great that your death wasn't a possibility. ... I'm so sorry this has happened to you."
Harris was the squad's only female pilot. Her commanding officer called the captain "a gifted pilot and a true friend." She was in high school when she won her coveted appointment to the United States Naval Academy. Harris, who was engaged to be married, was on her third tour in Iraq when she died.
Capt. Brian Santucci, who eulogized Harris, said the crash that killed his longtime friend came only a few days before she was scheduled to return home. He said Harris had wanted her last mission before leaving Iraq to be a casualty evacuation.
"Our squad did amazing things on that deployment, and she was a huge part of that," Santucci said. Later, with his voice catching in his throat, he gestured to a large picture of the pilot in a cockpit. "Please look at this picture and look at her smile. That's how I want you to remember her."
Roll call brings silence
Landaker -- whose commanding officer characterized him as "a rising star" -- was eulogized as a man brimming with confidence.
"He was one of the shorter people in our squadron, but I don't remember looking down at him," said Litfin.
Also attending the ceremony was Stuart Witt, who happened to be a passenger on the commercial flight that brought Landaker's body back to California. Witt penned an account he has called "Final Flight," which has been making the rounds in e-mail.
The man who eulogized Tijerina called him "the merry prankster of the flight line" and also "the closest and dearest friend I ever had."
Near the end of the service, a sergeant major performed a roll call of names of members of the Purple Foxes squadron. The Marine called the first name, and a voice in the back of the chapel yelled out "present." Same response for the next two names.
Then he called out the name of Capt. Jennifer Harris. Silence. He read it again. Silence. A third time. Silence.
Three times, the sergeant major called out the names of the rest of those killed on the ill-fated flight.
Each time, he waited for a response.
Again, each time, silence.
A blond woman in one of the front pews of the chapel put her shaking hand to her mouth and softly cried.
-- Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.
On the Net:
Purple Foxes official Web site www.3maw.usmc.mil/mag39/h...efault.asp
Witt's account of Landaker's "Final Flight" www.purplefoxyladies.com/
Ellie
By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON -- Eleven-year-old Sarah Landaker stared into the gray sky outside the chapel, overwhelmed as four helicopters roared in unison toward her. The child's face twisted in anguish as one of the choppers -- the one representing her uncle and his crewmates -- peeled off from the others.
Sarah's mother stood behind her, caressing her arm, kissing the back of her head, as the missing man formation, an aerial salute to fallen troops, passed overhead. The child, dressed in black, bit her lip and fought tears.
On Feb. 7, seven people, including four Camp Pendleton Marines, aboard a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter were killed when the helicopter was shot down in Iraq as it headed to a base north of Baghdad.
The flight nearly six weeks ago was supposed to be Sarah's uncle's last mission on his tour in Iraq. First Lt. Jared M. Landaker, a Big Bear native, was due to return to the states the following week.
On Monday, the fourth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion into Iraq, about 600 people gathered for a memorial for the four local Marines -- members of a squadron known as the Purple Foxes -- who perished on the flight.
The fallen Purple Foxes were Landaker, 25; Capt. Jennifer J. Harris, 28; Sgt. Travis D. Pfister, 27, and Sgt. James R. Tijerina, 26. All were assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton.
Also on board the helicopter that day were Petty Officer 3rd Class Manual Ruiz, 21; Petty Officer 1st Class Gilbert Minjares Jr., 31, and Marine Cpl. Thomas E. Saba.
Despite early reports the fiery crash that killed the seven troops might have been caused by mechanical failure, the Marine Corps has since confirmed that enemy fire caused the crash.
An insurgent group posted a Web video in February, showing what it said was the downing of a U.S. military helicopter. The two-minute video shows a helicopter that appears to be a Sea Knight flying and later exploding after being hit by an object trailing smoke, according to The Associated Press.
It remains unclear whether the chopper in the video was carrying the troops memorialized Monday.
The crash of the CH-46 was one in a spate of helicopter crashes in Iraq at the start of this year; many of them apparently had been shot down.
Since the start of combat operations four years ago, 3,210 U.S. service members have died in Iraq, according to the Department of Defense records as of Monday morning. According to records compiled by the Associated Press, at least 326 locally based Marines have died in the war since the invasion.
Chapel overflows with mourners
Members of the Purple Foxes squadron, which transports troops and equipment and evacuates casualties, returned to San Diego County just days ago. On Monday, not only did they fill the base chapel to capacity, but many more stood outside in the cold gray of the morning, watching the services on two large television screens.
As the chapel began to fill, former Marine Capt. Ryan Demik spoke of his lost comrades, their dedication, their skills, and the missions they flew. Missions over hostile land. Missions that would last for hours.
He also sang the praises of the crew chief, Sgt. Pfister, who Demik said flew on as many as 50 missions with him.
"If I knew he was flying on my plane, my stress level would go down immediately," said Demik, who spent nine years in the Marines before getting out last year. "The guy was that good."
On mentioning Capt. Harris, Demik immediately said the 28-year-old Marine was "a talented pilot" who once worked for him.
In a pew a few rows closer to the front of the chapel, Harris' neighbor called the pilot "a sweet, sweet woman."
"She was hilarious," said Elaine Forbes, 61, who lives in a Carlsbad condo upstairs from the one Harris owned. "Somebody helped me get on the Internet so I could sign her memorial book."
As crowded as the chapel was, it grew quiet as the service began.
"The past six weeks have been dark and difficult," Lt. Col. Sean Killeen, the commanding officer of the squadron, told the mourners.
Crew was transporting blood supplies
Killeen said the crew was on its way back from a mission to evacuate wounded people when it was diverted to the city of Balad to pick up "a much needed box of blood."
The helicopter came under fire, Killeen said, and tried to land in an open field.
After the service, Purple Foxes helicopter pilot 1st Lt. Garrett Litfin said it was his understanding that Marines sent out to the crash site couldn't help because the wreckage "was burning so hot, they couldn't get close to it." That, Litfin said, was "when it hit everybody real hard" that there were probably no survivors.
Each of the fallen Purple Foxes was eulogized by a comrade, and each eulogy was emotional, painful and heartfelt.
In telling the mourners about his best friend Pfister, Sgt. Brian Dinning chose to read from an open letter he wrote to Pfister after the sergeant's death.
"I have always felt small in your presence. I know it was your immense and magnetic personality that caused this," Dinning said. Later, his voice shaking, he continued, "I must be honest, Travis. I never saw this coming. Your presence was so great that your death wasn't a possibility. ... I'm so sorry this has happened to you."
Harris was the squad's only female pilot. Her commanding officer called the captain "a gifted pilot and a true friend." She was in high school when she won her coveted appointment to the United States Naval Academy. Harris, who was engaged to be married, was on her third tour in Iraq when she died.
Capt. Brian Santucci, who eulogized Harris, said the crash that killed his longtime friend came only a few days before she was scheduled to return home. He said Harris had wanted her last mission before leaving Iraq to be a casualty evacuation.
"Our squad did amazing things on that deployment, and she was a huge part of that," Santucci said. Later, with his voice catching in his throat, he gestured to a large picture of the pilot in a cockpit. "Please look at this picture and look at her smile. That's how I want you to remember her."
Roll call brings silence
Landaker -- whose commanding officer characterized him as "a rising star" -- was eulogized as a man brimming with confidence.
"He was one of the shorter people in our squadron, but I don't remember looking down at him," said Litfin.
Also attending the ceremony was Stuart Witt, who happened to be a passenger on the commercial flight that brought Landaker's body back to California. Witt penned an account he has called "Final Flight," which has been making the rounds in e-mail.
The man who eulogized Tijerina called him "the merry prankster of the flight line" and also "the closest and dearest friend I ever had."
Near the end of the service, a sergeant major performed a roll call of names of members of the Purple Foxes squadron. The Marine called the first name, and a voice in the back of the chapel yelled out "present." Same response for the next two names.
Then he called out the name of Capt. Jennifer Harris. Silence. He read it again. Silence. A third time. Silence.
Three times, the sergeant major called out the names of the rest of those killed on the ill-fated flight.
Each time, he waited for a response.
Again, each time, silence.
A blond woman in one of the front pews of the chapel put her shaking hand to her mouth and softly cried.
-- Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.
On the Net:
Purple Foxes official Web site www.3maw.usmc.mil/mag39/h...efault.asp
Witt's account of Landaker's "Final Flight" www.purplefoxyladies.com/
Ellie