In Memoriam

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From ABC, Faces of the Fallen . . . . 20 of them here.


http://abcnews.go.com/US/slideshow/f...opter-14270067

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#9

6 August 2011

US Army Specialist Alexander Bennett was killed in action on 6th August 2011 in Wardak province when his Chinook helicopter was shot down by enemy forces. He was serving with the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment.

23-year-old Spc. Bennett was a Chinook helicopter flight mechanic with the Army Reserve. He had previously served in Iraq in 2009. After returning home to Tacoma, Washington from Iraq, he moved to Kansas to join the unit based at New Century AirCenter.

Lt. Col. Richard Sherman, the former commander of Bravo Company, 7th Battalion, told local news that Spc. Bennett had a reputation as a prankster. “He was a typical young kid and liked to go out and have a good time with the guys,” Sherman said. “He never pranked me but then again at the time I was a major so specialists tend to not make majors their targets for pranks.”

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#10

6 August 2011

US Navy Chief Petty Officer Brian R. Bill was killed in action on 6th August 2011 when a Chinook helicopter he was in was shot down by enemy forces in Wardak province.

He joined the US Navy in June 2001. On completion of his basic training in Illinois, he attended and completed Basic Underwater Demolition training in California. In 2003, his ambition was realised when he was assigned to an East Coast Navy SEAL team based at Virginia Beach.

Chief Petty Officer Bill earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Stamford and Norwich University in Norwich. He was also fluent in French and had studied Russian. He also held a commercial pilot's license.

During his career he was awarded three Bronze Stars with Valor, a Joint Service Commendation Medal with Valor, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, two Combat Action Ribbons and three Good Conduct Medals.

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#11

6 August 2011

US Navy Chief Petty Officer Robert James Reeves was killed in action on 6th August 2011 when the Chinook helicopter he was in was shot down by enemy forces in Wardak province, Afghanistan.

CPO Reeves died along with his friend and colleague Lt. Commander Jonas Kelsall. Both men were born in Shreveport.

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10 August 2011

23-year-old US Marine Corporal Nicholas S. Ott, died on 10th August 2011 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Cpl Ott, from Manchester, NJ, served with the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, based at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. He joined the Marine Corps in September 2007. This was his first deployment to Afghanistan.

His awards include two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and three Sea Service Deployment Ribbons.

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#12


6 August 2011

28-year-old US Navy Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Darrik C. Benson, from Angwin, California, was killed in action on 6th August 2011 when the helicopter he was in was shot down by enemy forces in Wardak province, Afghanistan.

From the Daily Sentinel, Colorado -

Before he became a U.S. Navy SEAL, Darrik Benson was known as a good student and an all-around nice kid in Angwin, a small town in California's Napa Valley where he grew up.

At the end of his latest tour of duty next month, he planned to marry his girlfriend, Kara, and spend time with his 2-year-old son, Landon.

"She's very broken up about this," Benson's mother, Claudia Benson, told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

Benson had recently earned his commercial pilot's license to possibly fly airplanes after his military service ended.

Linda Hansel, who taught Benson in eighth grade, remembered him as bright, outgoing and just a touch mischievous.

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#13

6 August 2011

32-year-old US Navy Special Warfare Operator, Lieutenant-Commander Jonas B. Kelsall, from Shreveport, Louisiana, was killed in action on 6th August 2011 when the helicopter he was in was shot down by enemy forces in Wardak province, Afghanistan. He served with an East-coast based Navy SEAL unit.

From Urban Christian News -

Lt.Cdr Kelsall and CPO Robert Reeves (#11) had been childhood friends in Shreveport, La., where they played soccer together and graduated from Caddo Magnet High School, Kelsall's father, John, told The Times of Shreveport and KLSA-TV.

Both joined the military after graduation, though Reeves spent a year at Louisiana State University first, his father, Jim Reeves, told the newspaper.

Reeves became a SEAL in 1999 and served on SEAL Team 6, his father said. During his many deployments, he earned four Bronze Stars and other honors.

Kelsall was one of the first members of SEAL Team 7, his father said.

He trained in San Diego and met his wife of three years, Victoria, when he was attending the University of Texas out of Basic Underwater Demolition training, his father said.

Reeves placed several American flags outside his home and his neighbors joined in, many decorating their homes in red, white and blue in support of the families.