booksbenji
01-30-05, 05:21 PM
:HANDSALUTE:
It is with sadness and a little angry that I post this hear:
6 Texas Marines killed in Iraq crash
07:32 AM CST on Friday, January 28, 2005
Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO - A journey by Marine Corps helicopter in preparation for Iraqi elections was to have been Lance Cpl. Rhonald Dain Rairdan's final mission before his unit rotated out of the war-torn country. But he died in the Super Stallion's crash that also claimed at least five other Texas Marines' lives.
Rairdan called home on Monday, two days before the U.S. military's deadliest crash of the Iraq war.
"He told us that they were getting ready to get on a helicopter to go someplace for the (Iraq national) election," said his father, David, on Thursday afternoon. "Then they were going to go back to their ships."
Midlothian Marine died living his dream
Rairdan was the second San Antonio-area Marine among the 31 service members who died when the workhorse CH-53E went down in a desert sandstorm early Wednesday.
The helicopter's crew chief, 22-year-old Lance Cpl. Tony Hernandez of Canyon Lake, also died in the transport helicopter's crash in western Iraq along with Capt. Lyle Gordon, 30, of Midlothian, relatives said the Marines told them.
Also identified by the Department of Defense as among those killed were Capt. Paul C. Alaniz, 32, of Corpus Christi; Houston native Staff Sgt. Dexter Kimble, 30, and Lance Cpl. Saeed Jafarkhani-Torshizi Jr., 24, of Fort Worth.
David Rairdan said his son's unit deployed to the Middle East in October, about four months after he joined the Marines.
Dain, as he was called by his friends and family, grew up in Medina County just outside San Antonio. He was a machine gunner stationed at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, as part of the 1st Marine Division.
"Most of the guys with him (in the helicopter) went through boot camp with him and they died with him," said David Rairdan, who retired last summer from the Air Force after 24 years. "We felt like we knew them through his cards and letters."
He described his 20-year-old son as very personable with lots of friends, and that he liked to be around people. As a Marine, his dad said, he was very good at his job.
Dain Rairdan's unit got to Iraq shortly before joining the Marine-led offensive to take control of Fallujah, an insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad, in November.
The elder Rairdan said his son's unit later hunted for weapons caches in Fallujah and was among those policing that combat-damaged city as its residents trickled back to their homes.
David Rairdan, who had also spent time in the Middle East as part of his Air Force duties, spoke several times with his son about what was going on.
"I had been over there many times, and we understood what he was doing," said the Marine's dad.
With a military tradition going back generations, the Rairdan family isn't looking for someone to blame for Dain's death. The Marine, in his letters, wrote he was doing what he wanted to do, and that he enjoyed what he was doing, David Rairdan said.
"We're looking at their positive things, that we had as much time with him as we did," the father said. "Of course it all hasn't sunk in. We haven't seen the coffin yet -- that's going to be a terrible thing. ... But sometimes bad things happen to good people."
Gordon's family members said their son was inspired to become a pilot after seeing the movie "Top Gun."
"He was a happy child and he loved going fast," said Mary Gordon, his mother.
After graduating from Texas A&M University, Gordon worked at Sanderson Farms. "He had a good job but he wasn't happy. He wanted to fly," Mary Gordon said.
Gordon had been in the reserves and joined the military full-time in 2000.
"He had 31/2 years left," said Dickey Gordon, his father. Gordon had no firm plans after his six-year stint ended, but had discussed possibly joining the U.S. Coast Guard so he could continue flying helicopters.
Gordon flew helicopters at night. 'He loved it because he got to be in a sea of green when he flew," Mary Gordon said, referring to images when Gordon used night-vision goggles.
The family last spoke to Gordon by phone on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day when his wife of four years, Kaci Gordon, 26, visited for the holidays.
Mary Gordon and her son e-mailed frequently. The last e-mail he sent was about a week ago, she said.
Gordon was scheduled to return on March, his parents said.
Kimble, who lived with his wife, Dewana, and their four children in Marietta, Calif., was in good spirits when he last talked to his family in Houston, his sister Andrea Kimble said in a story in Friday's Houston Chronicle.
He was a helicopter mechanic on his second tour in Iraq. He had been with the Marines for 13 years.
"He loved the Marines," she said.
Gordon, Kimble and Alaniz were assigned to the Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, Calif.
I HOPE THAT WHEN THESE 6 TEXICANS REPORT TO MBHEAVEN WILL HEAR ST. PETER SAY, "YOUR JOB IS DONE, REST IN HEAVEN, BREAKFAST AT 0500, AND PT FOR THE REST OF THE DAY"
:marine:
Semper Fi
books
I have MARINES set to report back with dates and times for those who live nearby. books
It is with sadness and a little angry that I post this hear:
6 Texas Marines killed in Iraq crash
07:32 AM CST on Friday, January 28, 2005
Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO - A journey by Marine Corps helicopter in preparation for Iraqi elections was to have been Lance Cpl. Rhonald Dain Rairdan's final mission before his unit rotated out of the war-torn country. But he died in the Super Stallion's crash that also claimed at least five other Texas Marines' lives.
Rairdan called home on Monday, two days before the U.S. military's deadliest crash of the Iraq war.
"He told us that they were getting ready to get on a helicopter to go someplace for the (Iraq national) election," said his father, David, on Thursday afternoon. "Then they were going to go back to their ships."
Midlothian Marine died living his dream
Rairdan was the second San Antonio-area Marine among the 31 service members who died when the workhorse CH-53E went down in a desert sandstorm early Wednesday.
The helicopter's crew chief, 22-year-old Lance Cpl. Tony Hernandez of Canyon Lake, also died in the transport helicopter's crash in western Iraq along with Capt. Lyle Gordon, 30, of Midlothian, relatives said the Marines told them.
Also identified by the Department of Defense as among those killed were Capt. Paul C. Alaniz, 32, of Corpus Christi; Houston native Staff Sgt. Dexter Kimble, 30, and Lance Cpl. Saeed Jafarkhani-Torshizi Jr., 24, of Fort Worth.
David Rairdan said his son's unit deployed to the Middle East in October, about four months after he joined the Marines.
Dain, as he was called by his friends and family, grew up in Medina County just outside San Antonio. He was a machine gunner stationed at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, as part of the 1st Marine Division.
"Most of the guys with him (in the helicopter) went through boot camp with him and they died with him," said David Rairdan, who retired last summer from the Air Force after 24 years. "We felt like we knew them through his cards and letters."
He described his 20-year-old son as very personable with lots of friends, and that he liked to be around people. As a Marine, his dad said, he was very good at his job.
Dain Rairdan's unit got to Iraq shortly before joining the Marine-led offensive to take control of Fallujah, an insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad, in November.
The elder Rairdan said his son's unit later hunted for weapons caches in Fallujah and was among those policing that combat-damaged city as its residents trickled back to their homes.
David Rairdan, who had also spent time in the Middle East as part of his Air Force duties, spoke several times with his son about what was going on.
"I had been over there many times, and we understood what he was doing," said the Marine's dad.
With a military tradition going back generations, the Rairdan family isn't looking for someone to blame for Dain's death. The Marine, in his letters, wrote he was doing what he wanted to do, and that he enjoyed what he was doing, David Rairdan said.
"We're looking at their positive things, that we had as much time with him as we did," the father said. "Of course it all hasn't sunk in. We haven't seen the coffin yet -- that's going to be a terrible thing. ... But sometimes bad things happen to good people."
Gordon's family members said their son was inspired to become a pilot after seeing the movie "Top Gun."
"He was a happy child and he loved going fast," said Mary Gordon, his mother.
After graduating from Texas A&M University, Gordon worked at Sanderson Farms. "He had a good job but he wasn't happy. He wanted to fly," Mary Gordon said.
Gordon had been in the reserves and joined the military full-time in 2000.
"He had 31/2 years left," said Dickey Gordon, his father. Gordon had no firm plans after his six-year stint ended, but had discussed possibly joining the U.S. Coast Guard so he could continue flying helicopters.
Gordon flew helicopters at night. 'He loved it because he got to be in a sea of green when he flew," Mary Gordon said, referring to images when Gordon used night-vision goggles.
The family last spoke to Gordon by phone on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day when his wife of four years, Kaci Gordon, 26, visited for the holidays.
Mary Gordon and her son e-mailed frequently. The last e-mail he sent was about a week ago, she said.
Gordon was scheduled to return on March, his parents said.
Kimble, who lived with his wife, Dewana, and their four children in Marietta, Calif., was in good spirits when he last talked to his family in Houston, his sister Andrea Kimble said in a story in Friday's Houston Chronicle.
He was a helicopter mechanic on his second tour in Iraq. He had been with the Marines for 13 years.
"He loved the Marines," she said.
Gordon, Kimble and Alaniz were assigned to the Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, Calif.
I HOPE THAT WHEN THESE 6 TEXICANS REPORT TO MBHEAVEN WILL HEAR ST. PETER SAY, "YOUR JOB IS DONE, REST IN HEAVEN, BREAKFAST AT 0500, AND PT FOR THE REST OF THE DAY"
:marine:
Semper Fi
books
I have MARINES set to report back with dates and times for those who live nearby. books