thedrifter
04-25-03, 07:24 PM
Lynch rescue perilous, Miramar Marines recall
By Jeanette Steele
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 25, 2003
The nighttime rescue of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch was expected to be so harrowing that the Marines needed their most experienced pilots.
That's why a colonel and a lieutenant colonel from Miramar Marine Corps Air Station flew two of the helicopters that retrieved the captured supply company clerk from an Iraqi hospital.
Miramar aircrews – a handful of helicopters and several dozen local Marines – played a pivotal role in the April 2 rescue that enthralled the nation. They carried the Army Rangers who, along with Navy SEALs, pulled out the wounded 19-year-old.
Lynch is recovering from her injuries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Some Marine crew members called the rescue the highlight of their military careers. But it almost went awry.
One of the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters hit a wire during the initial landing and nearly crashed. If the wire had not broken, it could have been one of the war's deadliest accidents for U.S. troops.
The endeavor continued smoothly and was the first successful prisoner-of-war rescue since World War II, according to the Pentagon.
"It just made all of us extremely happy to be part of this," said Col. Stuart Knoll, group commander of Miramar's helicopter squadrons and one of the base's senior officers. He and others were interviewed by phone from Iraq.
Knoll, a 27-year Marine veteran, said he flew one of the Sea Knights because the task demanded pilots with the most experience flying with night-vision goggles – a risky undertaking because the pilot's field of vision is diminished.
Considering the danger, Knoll said, "I wouldn't send my Marines on a mission I wouldn't do myself."
Lt. Col. Gregg Sturdevant, who planned the Marines' role in the action, also flew one of the CH-46s.
"This was a once-in-a-lifetime mission," said Sturdevant, who earned the Bronze Star in Afghanistan for leading combat sorties over Tora Bora.
The rescue effort came together quickly.
The Marines, operating from the amphibious assault ship Boxer in the Arabian Sea, got the call the day before. Sturdevant went ashore to plan.
At "go time" – midnight – the Marine helicopters flew their Army cargo to a landing zone near Saddam Hospital in Nasiriyah. The aircraft used were Marine troop carriers, the CH-46s and CH-53 Super Stallions.
Elsewhere in the city, Marine ground forces staged a fake attack to divert Iraqi paramilitary troops using the hospital as a base. Other helicopters carried Navy SEALs also taking part in the rescue. Navy officials yesterday declined to say whether those SEALs are based in San Diego.
The mission was based on a tip from an Iraqi lawyer who became sympathetic when he saw Lynch in the hospital.
The night was inky black, with little natural illumination, and the Miramar Marines had only sketchy information on the towers and telephone wires they might encounter.
Just as one Sea Knight was minutes from touchdown, its nose snagged an overhead wire. The large craft pitched sharply sideways, and the 16 people inside were thrown back.
Sgt. Paul Tschida was a crewman on that helicopter. The CH-46 shook and bucked, he said.
Then, miraculously, the wire detached.
"We made sure no one was hanging out the back, and looked out to make sure we still had landing gear," said Tschida, 24, from Pierz, Minn.
The helicopter landed safely, the Rangers scrambled out, and it was off within seconds – returning later to pick up the troops.
Tschida said he and the other Marines glowed with pride when the special operations troops found Lynch alive and in good spirits despite her injuries.
Lynch was taken prisoner with other members of the 507th Maintenance Company when their convoy took a wrong turn in the desert. They were among the POWs who were rescued April 13 after they were abandoned by their Iraqi captors.
During the mission, the bodies of 11 U.S. soldiers were discovered and retrieved.
"It was the pinnacle of my career, whether I stay in the Marines or not," Tschida said. "I was pretty honored to be there."
After delivering the Rangers, the helicopters waited at a staging point within Iraq to await the order for pickup.
Sturdevant said the mood was tense as they listened to radio reports from the forces in the hospital. Finally, the call came.
This time, the flights went without incident. A standby helicopter had been brought in to replace the CH-46 that hit the wire.
Then, just before sunrise, it was over. The Marines were exhausted but exultant.
"It was a pretty long mission. We were pretty excited and very tired," said Maj. James Anderson, 36, a CH-53 pilot.
News of the rescue buoyed the spirits of Marines who were fighting fierce ground battles across Iraq.
When the helicopters returned to the Boxer, Marines welcomed them with cheers, Sturdevant said.
"At that point in the war – just knowing that if something happened and one of us was captured, we could go and get them back – it was a great morale booster," he said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeanette Steele: (760) 476-8244; jen.steele@uniontrib.com
Sempers,
Roger
By Jeanette Steele
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 25, 2003
The nighttime rescue of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch was expected to be so harrowing that the Marines needed their most experienced pilots.
That's why a colonel and a lieutenant colonel from Miramar Marine Corps Air Station flew two of the helicopters that retrieved the captured supply company clerk from an Iraqi hospital.
Miramar aircrews – a handful of helicopters and several dozen local Marines – played a pivotal role in the April 2 rescue that enthralled the nation. They carried the Army Rangers who, along with Navy SEALs, pulled out the wounded 19-year-old.
Lynch is recovering from her injuries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Some Marine crew members called the rescue the highlight of their military careers. But it almost went awry.
One of the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters hit a wire during the initial landing and nearly crashed. If the wire had not broken, it could have been one of the war's deadliest accidents for U.S. troops.
The endeavor continued smoothly and was the first successful prisoner-of-war rescue since World War II, according to the Pentagon.
"It just made all of us extremely happy to be part of this," said Col. Stuart Knoll, group commander of Miramar's helicopter squadrons and one of the base's senior officers. He and others were interviewed by phone from Iraq.
Knoll, a 27-year Marine veteran, said he flew one of the Sea Knights because the task demanded pilots with the most experience flying with night-vision goggles – a risky undertaking because the pilot's field of vision is diminished.
Considering the danger, Knoll said, "I wouldn't send my Marines on a mission I wouldn't do myself."
Lt. Col. Gregg Sturdevant, who planned the Marines' role in the action, also flew one of the CH-46s.
"This was a once-in-a-lifetime mission," said Sturdevant, who earned the Bronze Star in Afghanistan for leading combat sorties over Tora Bora.
The rescue effort came together quickly.
The Marines, operating from the amphibious assault ship Boxer in the Arabian Sea, got the call the day before. Sturdevant went ashore to plan.
At "go time" – midnight – the Marine helicopters flew their Army cargo to a landing zone near Saddam Hospital in Nasiriyah. The aircraft used were Marine troop carriers, the CH-46s and CH-53 Super Stallions.
Elsewhere in the city, Marine ground forces staged a fake attack to divert Iraqi paramilitary troops using the hospital as a base. Other helicopters carried Navy SEALs also taking part in the rescue. Navy officials yesterday declined to say whether those SEALs are based in San Diego.
The mission was based on a tip from an Iraqi lawyer who became sympathetic when he saw Lynch in the hospital.
The night was inky black, with little natural illumination, and the Miramar Marines had only sketchy information on the towers and telephone wires they might encounter.
Just as one Sea Knight was minutes from touchdown, its nose snagged an overhead wire. The large craft pitched sharply sideways, and the 16 people inside were thrown back.
Sgt. Paul Tschida was a crewman on that helicopter. The CH-46 shook and bucked, he said.
Then, miraculously, the wire detached.
"We made sure no one was hanging out the back, and looked out to make sure we still had landing gear," said Tschida, 24, from Pierz, Minn.
The helicopter landed safely, the Rangers scrambled out, and it was off within seconds – returning later to pick up the troops.
Tschida said he and the other Marines glowed with pride when the special operations troops found Lynch alive and in good spirits despite her injuries.
Lynch was taken prisoner with other members of the 507th Maintenance Company when their convoy took a wrong turn in the desert. They were among the POWs who were rescued April 13 after they were abandoned by their Iraqi captors.
During the mission, the bodies of 11 U.S. soldiers were discovered and retrieved.
"It was the pinnacle of my career, whether I stay in the Marines or not," Tschida said. "I was pretty honored to be there."
After delivering the Rangers, the helicopters waited at a staging point within Iraq to await the order for pickup.
Sturdevant said the mood was tense as they listened to radio reports from the forces in the hospital. Finally, the call came.
This time, the flights went without incident. A standby helicopter had been brought in to replace the CH-46 that hit the wire.
Then, just before sunrise, it was over. The Marines were exhausted but exultant.
"It was a pretty long mission. We were pretty excited and very tired," said Maj. James Anderson, 36, a CH-53 pilot.
News of the rescue buoyed the spirits of Marines who were fighting fierce ground battles across Iraq.
When the helicopters returned to the Boxer, Marines welcomed them with cheers, Sturdevant said.
"At that point in the war – just knowing that if something happened and one of us was captured, we could go and get them back – it was a great morale booster," he said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeanette Steele: (760) 476-8244; jen.steele@uniontrib.com
Sempers,
Roger