thedrifter
08-21-07, 07:31 AM
Marine pilot "loved to fly"
Maj. Freitas among crew killed when search-and-rescue copter crashes
By Howard Pankratz
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 08/21/2007 12:26:20 AM MDT
Jennifer Freitas describes her husband, Maj. Cesar Y. Freitas, as a gregarious soul who loved people and his children.
Freitas, 35, was one of two Marine pilots killed last week when their Marine search- and-rescue helicopter crashed about 20 miles north of Yuma, Ariz.
A third Marine and a Navy corpsman were also killed. Another Marine was injured but survived.
Jennifer Freitas, 31, a graduate of Heritage High School in Littleton, said her husband made and kept friends easily.
"He was outgoing and dynamic. We could not go anywhere without running into someone he knew," Freitas recalled Monday. "He sold a car in Yuma and the man who bought it calls us regularly and invites us to dinner. He (Cesar) keeps in touch with friends he made in the third grade, high school and college."
Jennifer Freitas is expecting the couple's third child in January. The couple have a 4-year-old son, Kaiser, and 1-year-old daughter, Kaylin.
Jennifer said she plans to tell them what a great father they had.
"The biggest thing I want them to know is how much he loved them," Freitas said. He was a very hands-on father."
For their son's birthday this month, he bought a football and a soccer goal.
"He was excited. It was difficult to tell who was more excited - my husband or my son," she said with a chuckle.
Jennifer, who said the the couple was to have celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary in two weeks, said her husband's passion was flying.
"These guys loved to fly," she said.
Freitas was born in Brazil, but called Boulder home. He was fluent in Japanese, Portuguese and English and planned to be an airline pilot after his military service.
He was in Air Force ROTC at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where the couple met, was commissioned as a Marine Corps officer in 1995, and served in Iraq.
The helicopter was reported missing Thursday while on a routine training flight near the Yuma Proving Ground, Marine spokesmen said.
Col. Ben Hancock, the commanding officer at the Yuma air station, paid tribute Monday to Freitas and the other crew members.
"I extend my deepest condolences to the family members of the Marines and sailor," Hancock said. Their "devotion to duty, patriotism and selflessness are hallmarks of search-and-rescue crew members.
"They were outstanding members of this command, and as a close-knit family, we mourn their loss," Hancock added.
Also killed were Capt. Bradley Walters, 33, a pilot for the headquarters squadron in Yuma; Sgt. Charles Osgood, 27, the crew chief; and Navy corpsman Brendon Sandburg, 25.
Marine Lance Cpl. Brian Stahlhut, 21, survived.
A memorial service for the four men is planned at the air station's Chapel at 9 a.m. Wednesday. A service is also planned in Colorado, although the date hasn't been set, Jennifer Freitas said.
"He lived a life of no regrets," she said.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
Ellie
Maj. Freitas among crew killed when search-and-rescue copter crashes
By Howard Pankratz
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 08/21/2007 12:26:20 AM MDT
Jennifer Freitas describes her husband, Maj. Cesar Y. Freitas, as a gregarious soul who loved people and his children.
Freitas, 35, was one of two Marine pilots killed last week when their Marine search- and-rescue helicopter crashed about 20 miles north of Yuma, Ariz.
A third Marine and a Navy corpsman were also killed. Another Marine was injured but survived.
Jennifer Freitas, 31, a graduate of Heritage High School in Littleton, said her husband made and kept friends easily.
"He was outgoing and dynamic. We could not go anywhere without running into someone he knew," Freitas recalled Monday. "He sold a car in Yuma and the man who bought it calls us regularly and invites us to dinner. He (Cesar) keeps in touch with friends he made in the third grade, high school and college."
Jennifer Freitas is expecting the couple's third child in January. The couple have a 4-year-old son, Kaiser, and 1-year-old daughter, Kaylin.
Jennifer said she plans to tell them what a great father they had.
"The biggest thing I want them to know is how much he loved them," Freitas said. He was a very hands-on father."
For their son's birthday this month, he bought a football and a soccer goal.
"He was excited. It was difficult to tell who was more excited - my husband or my son," she said with a chuckle.
Jennifer, who said the the couple was to have celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary in two weeks, said her husband's passion was flying.
"These guys loved to fly," she said.
Freitas was born in Brazil, but called Boulder home. He was fluent in Japanese, Portuguese and English and planned to be an airline pilot after his military service.
He was in Air Force ROTC at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where the couple met, was commissioned as a Marine Corps officer in 1995, and served in Iraq.
The helicopter was reported missing Thursday while on a routine training flight near the Yuma Proving Ground, Marine spokesmen said.
Col. Ben Hancock, the commanding officer at the Yuma air station, paid tribute Monday to Freitas and the other crew members.
"I extend my deepest condolences to the family members of the Marines and sailor," Hancock said. Their "devotion to duty, patriotism and selflessness are hallmarks of search-and-rescue crew members.
"They were outstanding members of this command, and as a close-knit family, we mourn their loss," Hancock added.
Also killed were Capt. Bradley Walters, 33, a pilot for the headquarters squadron in Yuma; Sgt. Charles Osgood, 27, the crew chief; and Navy corpsman Brendon Sandburg, 25.
Marine Lance Cpl. Brian Stahlhut, 21, survived.
A memorial service for the four men is planned at the air station's Chapel at 9 a.m. Wednesday. A service is also planned in Colorado, although the date hasn't been set, Jennifer Freitas said.
"He lived a life of no regrets," she said.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
Ellie