bobdina
06-12-2010, 01:00 PM
Air Force P.J.'s and Medevac crew victims returned home from Afghanistan
By Scott Fontaine - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Jun 12, 2010 12:37:25 EDT
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. — The transfer team’s steps were meticulously synchronized. Their white gloves were spotless. The flag wrapped around each case was tight, each with an identical number of stars and stripes showing.
They said little — just a few orders, barely audible over the clanging rotors of the Boeing 747. The Air Force chief of staff held a sharp salute as they walked by. The service secretary held his hand over his heart.
Four of their colleagues were killed two days earlier, when insurgents shot down their HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter during a medical-evacuation mission in southern Afghanistan. And on Friday, the fallen returned to the U.S.; their remains were met here with full honors.
The Air Force transfer team first carried the flag-draped case containing the remains of Lt. Joel C. Gentz, a combat rescue officer who enrolled in ROTC because he wanted to be a pilot and fly rescue missions, from a hydraulic lift to a waiting cargo van.
Next came the body of Tech. Sgt. Michael P. Flores, a pararescueman who had previously been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and had served overseas eight times in 12 years.
And then Staff Sgt. David C. Smith, a flight engineer who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan during his nine-year Air Force career.
And, lastly, Senior Airman Benjamin D. White, a pararescueman on his first deployment.
Their helicopter crashed in Helmand province, leaving three other airmen injured and leading to the Air Force’s deadliest day at war in more than five years. The remains of Lance Cpl. Michael G. Plank, a Marine killed in Helmand province on Wednesday, also made the trip from Germany.
Fellow pararescuemen escorted the remains from Germany and snapped a salute as the cases were moved from the plane to a hydraulic lift. The lift was lowered, and the transfer teams solemnly walked each case to one of two waiting cargo vans. Family members stood near the tail of the jet and watched.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and Secretary Michael Donley didn’t provide a statement or take questions from the handful of reporters here — standard procedure for the event, known to the Air Force as a dignified transfer. And a port mortuary spokeswoman wasn’t sure the last time such an event drew the service’s top uniformed and civilian officials.
But the Air Force hadn’t lost four or more airmen since May 30, 2005, when a prop plane crashed in Diyala province, Iraq. The incident killed four American airmen and an Iraqi officer.
The Pave Hawk carrying the pararescuemen crashed in the Sangin district of Helmand as it was providing support for British troops. A Taliban spokesman told the New York Times that insurgents shot it down with a rocket-propelled grenade.
Flores and White were assigned to the 48th Rescue Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. Gentz was assigned to the 58th Rescue Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Smith was assigned to the 66th Rescue Squadron at Nellis.
The wounded airmen are members of the 66th Rescue Squadron. They are being treated at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany.
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2010/06/airforce_helo_crash_remains_061110w/
By Scott Fontaine - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Jun 12, 2010 12:37:25 EDT
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. — The transfer team’s steps were meticulously synchronized. Their white gloves were spotless. The flag wrapped around each case was tight, each with an identical number of stars and stripes showing.
They said little — just a few orders, barely audible over the clanging rotors of the Boeing 747. The Air Force chief of staff held a sharp salute as they walked by. The service secretary held his hand over his heart.
Four of their colleagues were killed two days earlier, when insurgents shot down their HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter during a medical-evacuation mission in southern Afghanistan. And on Friday, the fallen returned to the U.S.; their remains were met here with full honors.
The Air Force transfer team first carried the flag-draped case containing the remains of Lt. Joel C. Gentz, a combat rescue officer who enrolled in ROTC because he wanted to be a pilot and fly rescue missions, from a hydraulic lift to a waiting cargo van.
Next came the body of Tech. Sgt. Michael P. Flores, a pararescueman who had previously been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and had served overseas eight times in 12 years.
And then Staff Sgt. David C. Smith, a flight engineer who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan during his nine-year Air Force career.
And, lastly, Senior Airman Benjamin D. White, a pararescueman on his first deployment.
Their helicopter crashed in Helmand province, leaving three other airmen injured and leading to the Air Force’s deadliest day at war in more than five years. The remains of Lance Cpl. Michael G. Plank, a Marine killed in Helmand province on Wednesday, also made the trip from Germany.
Fellow pararescuemen escorted the remains from Germany and snapped a salute as the cases were moved from the plane to a hydraulic lift. The lift was lowered, and the transfer teams solemnly walked each case to one of two waiting cargo vans. Family members stood near the tail of the jet and watched.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and Secretary Michael Donley didn’t provide a statement or take questions from the handful of reporters here — standard procedure for the event, known to the Air Force as a dignified transfer. And a port mortuary spokeswoman wasn’t sure the last time such an event drew the service’s top uniformed and civilian officials.
But the Air Force hadn’t lost four or more airmen since May 30, 2005, when a prop plane crashed in Diyala province, Iraq. The incident killed four American airmen and an Iraqi officer.
The Pave Hawk carrying the pararescuemen crashed in the Sangin district of Helmand as it was providing support for British troops. A Taliban spokesman told the New York Times that insurgents shot it down with a rocket-propelled grenade.
Flores and White were assigned to the 48th Rescue Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. Gentz was assigned to the 58th Rescue Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Smith was assigned to the 66th Rescue Squadron at Nellis.
The wounded airmen are members of the 66th Rescue Squadron. They are being treated at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany.
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2010/06/airforce_helo_crash_remains_061110w/