U.S. Marines 'Devastated' After Crash

Sgt. Jonathan E. McColley, 23

U.S. Marines 'Devastated' After Crash

By STEVE HARTSOE, Associated Press WriterMon Feb 20, 2:36 AM ET

Ten U.S. service members died when a pair of Marine Corps helicopters from a unit based in North Carolina crashed off the coast of Africa, U.S. military officials confirmed Sunday.

The two CH-53E choppers, carrying a dozen crew and troops from a U.S. counterterrorism force, went down during a training flight Friday in the Gulf of Aden, near the northern coastal town of Ras Siyyan in Djibouti.

Two crew members who were rescued were taken in stable condition to the U.S. military's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

The aircraft and eight Marines were from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464, based at Marine Corps Air Station New River. Two Air Force airmen killed were from bases in Washington state and Virginia.

'We were devastated,' said Marine Corps 1st Lt. Paul Tremblay, who is based at Camp Lejeune, the huge post on the Atlantic Ocean that's next to the New River air station. 'It hits us very hard as Marines when we lose anyone.'

The Pentagon said the Marines killed in the crash were:

• 1st Lt. Brandon R. Dronet, 33, of Erath, La.

• • Sgt. Jonathan E. McColley, 23, of Gettysburg, Pa.

• Capt. Bryan D. Willard, 33, of Hummelstown, Pa.

Also killed in the crash were Senior Airman Alecia S. Good, 23, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, of the 92nd Communications Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.; and Staff Sgt. Luis M. Melendez Sanchez, 33, of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, of the 1st Communications Squadron, Langley Air Force Base, Va.

"Our deepest sympathy and heartfelt prayers go out to the family members, friends, loved ones and co-workers of our fallen brothers- and sisters-in-arms," said Maj. Gen. Timothy Ghormley, commanding general of the counterterrorism force. "We mourn their loss and honor their memory."

John McColley of Gettysburg, Pa., said his son was less than two months away from being rotated out of Africa and it was difficult to wait for news after the first reports of the crash.

"That news affected every member of the contingent, 40 or 50 families," McColley said. "Every family's heart sank."

Margaret Levens, of Long Beach, Miss., said she was proud that her son, Donnie Levens, had a chance to do what he loved.

"He was there to serve his country and to keep his family and country safe," Margaret Levens said. "It was what he wanted to do. He was there for us ... in fact he had reenlisted for four (more) years."

The remains of the eight Marines and two airmen were sent back to the United States on Sunday, task force spokeswoman Maj. Susan Romano told The Associated Press by telephone from Djibouti.

One of the two crew members who were rescued was Marine pilot Susan Craig, 28, who called her parents, Pat and Lewis Sackett of Fall Creek, Wis.

"She's bruised and swollen, and her arms and legs got hurt, but no broken bones," Pat Sackett said.

She said her daughter was not sure what caused the crash.

Military officials were investigating why the aircraft when down in shallow water. They said there was no indication of hostile fire, and visibility was good with light wind.

The Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, set up in the former French colony in June 2002, is responsible for fighting terrorism in nine countries in the region: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Somalia in Africa and Yemen on the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula.

The impoverished region is home to a sizable Muslim population. U.S. officials say it has been used by terrorists as a place to hide, recruit operatives and stage attacks.

The region has suffered four attacks either claimed by or attributed to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, including bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania; and the 2002 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen.

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Associated Press writers Rodrique Ngowi in Nairobi, Kenya, and Valerie Bauman in Jackson, Miss., and Bob Lentz in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

MCAS New River: http://www.newriver.usmc.mil/

Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464: http://www.2maw.usmc.mil/MAG29/HMH464/default.asp