The names of the four marines who were killed in the helicopter crash near the Kuwaiti - Iraqi border have been released.
The Pentagon has released the names of the Marines killed in the crash of the CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter. They are Maj. Jay Thomas Aubin, 36, of Waterville, Maine; Capt. Ryan Anthony Beaupre, 30, of Bloomington, Ill.; Cpl. Brian Matthew Kennedy, 25, of Houston, Texas; and Staff Sgt. Kendall Damon Watersbey, 29, of Baltimore, Md.
Captain Ryan Beaupre was much admired by his family. They said he was an admirable man and loved the military, was good to his family and friends.
2nd Lt. Therrel S. Childers, 30, Harrison County, Miss.
Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, 22, Los Angeles, Calif.
Childers was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif. Gutierrez was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Killed in Action March 23, 2003
Lance Corporal Brian Rory Buesing, 20, Cedar Key, Fla. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Corporal Randal Kent Rosacker, 21, San Diego, Calif. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Monday March 24, 2003
It was a very busy weekend in Iraq and the United States. Brave marines and soldiers lost their lives. Five members of a maintenance unit were captured and are now prisoners of war. An Army Maintenance unit member took the life of Captain Christopher Scott Seifort when he threw live grenades into two tents where officers and support teams were. They were all members of the 101st Airborne Unit who are nicknamed "Screaming Eagles". It is not know at this time what the Sgts. motive was. Captain Seiford was 27 years old, married with a new baby boy named Benjamin.
There is still heavy fighting on the Faw Peninsula where the first Marine was killed last week.
Navy Pilot Lt. Tom Mullen Adams, age 27, was killed when two helicopters collided over international waters. He was with the British Royal Navy.
Marines Killed over the weekend.
Sgt. Nicolas M. Hodson, 22, of Smithville, Mo., March 24, Iraq Hodson was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Lance Cpl. Eric J. Orlowski, 26, of Buffalo, N.Y., March 24, Iraq Orlowski was assigned to the 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, N.C
A British news reporter was killed in a battle in S. Iraq. He was Terri Lloyd, 50, married with two children.
Seven members of our military are now POW's and Seven others are missing. I would like to let the families of these brave young people know I am praying for them and all of the brave young men and women in Iraq, Kuwait, and Qutar.
Our government asks that the rules for POW's stated in the Geneva Convention be abided by concerning these and future POW's. Please visit http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/lawofwar/geneva03.htm for complete Geneva Convention of 1949.
Known Prisoners of War
Spc. Edgar Adan Hernandez, 21, Mission, Texas Spc. Joseph Neal Hudson, 23, Alamogordo, N.M., March 23, 2003 Spc. Shoshana Nyree Johnson, 30, El Paso, Texas, March 23, 2003 Pfc. Patrick Wayne Miller, 23, Walter, Kan., March 23, 2003 Sgt. James Joseph Riley, 31, Pennsauken, N.J., March 23, 2003 Chief Warrant Officer David S. Williams, 30, Florida, March 23, 2003 Chief Warrant Officer Ronald D. Young, Jr., 26, Lithia Springs, Ga., March 23, 2003
Palm Sunday --------------- April 13, 2003 It could not have been a better Palm Sunday for the families of the seven POW's. All seven were found safe and were transferred to Kuwait for a medical examination. All seven were smiling and eager to get into the waiting military ambulance. Two of the soldiers had gun shot wounds they were recovering from. Spc. Shoshana Johnson was limping and had a bandage on her lower left leg. Her family and friends were ecstatic to see her on the video and still shots from the embedded reporters who were there for their retrieval.
They will be debriefed and then sent back to the states to Walter Reed Hospital. It is not known exactly when at this time.
April 16, 2003
The seven former POW's were flown to Ramstien, AFB, Germany earlier today. They were among the almost fifty on board. Six of them walked off the air plane and Shoshana Johnson was carried on a stretcher to the waiting bus that transported them and other walking wounded to the hospital. The ones left on the plane were apparently in no condition to walk. God bless them all.
April 19, 2003
It was a joyous reunion for the former POW's and their families Saturday, April 19, 2003.
The former POW's left Germany early Saturday morning on their journey back home. The first leg of their trip took thirteen hours. They were all brought to Ft. Bliss, TX Army base where the five soldiers of the 507th's family members were anxiously awaiting their arrival. Over 1,000 locals stood and sat for hours waiting for the sight of the plane to come into view over the horizon. It was a windy day with lots of sunshine. Many of them held American flags that looked beautiful flowing in the breeze. As the Army transport was taxiing into position two members of the 507th positioned themselves in an upper part of the plane with a portal. Spc. Hernandez held the flagpole and Pfc. Wayne Miller waved at the crowd. The crowd roared with excitement.
Their parents, wives, and children got to greet them first. They all rushed to the back of the airplane and hugged their loved ones. Sgt. Hernandez was the first off the plane and he rushed into his waiting wife's arms then picked up his daughter and gave her a big bear hug.
All the former POW's were mobile except Spc. Shoshana Johnson who had been wounded in Iraq. She had to have surgery at the medical facility in Germany. She was carried off the plane on a stretcher but insisted on being raised to wave at the crowd and rode a golf cart around the assigned area where the spectators were waiting to see them.
The two pilots CWO David Williams and CWO Ronald Young had one more journey to make before seeing their families. It took them about an hour and a half to fly on to Ft. Hood, TX. Their families were taken to greet them privately before a more formal ceremony was held inside a hangar where they got to greet their fellow soldiers and give a little speech. They asked that their fellow soldiers and all Americans continue praying for all those still in Iraq and the two military personnel who are still missing. They said they loved all their fellow soldiers and their country.
All former POW's were allowed to spend Saturday night and Easter Sunday with their families. They will be undergoing medical and other tests this week but are expected to be with their families at night.
Thank God they are home and bless them and their families.
