The month of May is Military Appreciation Month and this is also Memorial Day weekend. I’d like to deviate a bit from our gear and adventure content to recognize some of the fine men I served with in the Marine Corps. Some are still around, some are not.
During my enlistment in the Marine Corps, I was assigned to the 2nd Bn, 8th Marines (WPNS Co.). Eventually, my unit was attached to the 24th MEU(SOC), as a TRAP Team. TRAP stands for Tactical Recovery of Aircraft Personnel. The TRAP team was a QRF (quick reaction force) in the event one of our pilots went down behind enemy lines.
If we got the call we were inserted to locate and recover the pilot. Before our 6-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, we had to complete several field exercises to be deemed ‘Special Operations Capable’.
During the last field exercise known as Exercise Purple Star, we were tasked with a night insertion and movement to our objective.
Before the exercise kicked off, we all sat around playing cards, watching movies, and just generally shooting the shit with each other. Little did we know that our ‘training’ exercise would turn into the recovery of our own guys.
Wheels up at 0200 | Inbound to LZ Bluebird
Once exercise Purple Star kicked off my unit was stacked just inside the door leading to the dark flight deck, doing our final weapons and gear checks. Once we had the green light we made our way out to our assigned CH46 helos ( 3 in all).
To this day I’ll never forget the smell of aviation fuel, the sound of the helo’s on the flight deck spinning up, and the blast of heat as we loaded into the back of the CH46.
The plan was to take the three CH46 helicopters towards the coast to the assigned LZ (LZ Bluebird). Before us landing in the LZ we had two Cobra Attack Helicopters clear the LZ for us. As we approached the LZ, looking out the small window next to where I was sitting I saw a huge fireball appear in the sky.
At that moment our helo banked left at a steep angle. Seconds later the crew chief passed back the hand signal (his fists hitting each other) signaling that there was a mid-air collision (The Cobra and lead CH46 helicopter had just collided).
Long story short, the training mission was aborted and we were now recovering the bodies of our own brothers (the very same guys we were playing cards with just hours ago).
- Maj. Michael D. Kuszewski, 42, of Westminster, Mass.
- Capt. Scott T. Rice, 28, of Springfield, Mo.
- 1st Lt. Joseph R. Fandrey, 25, of Norfolk, Mass.
- 1st Lt. Arthur J. Schneider, 25, of Livingston, N.J.
- Cpl. Brandon J. Tucker, 23, of Gaston, N.C.
- Cpl. Brian L. Collins, 22, of Louisville, Ky.
- Cpl. Britt T. Stacey, 26, of Roanoke, Va.
- Cpl. Erik D. Kirkland, 29, of Lewisburg, Pa.
- Lance Cpl. John P. Condello, 23, of Rochester, N.Y.
- Lance Cpl. Jackie D. Chidester, 23, of Newark, Ohio
- Lance Cpl. Jose L. Elizarraras, 20, of Orange, Calif.
- Lance Cpl. Jorge E. Malagon; 19, of Melrose Park, Ill.
- HM Brent W. Garmon (USN), 20, of New Bern, N.C.
- Staff Sgt. Sean W. Carroll (USA), 36, of Newburgh, N.Y.
They did not die in combat | They died training for when that time would come
They joined tens of thousands of other Americans in all branches of service that have died in peace while preparing for war. You won’t ever hear the media mention that terrible night on the anniversary of operation Purple Star because the only ones who remember are the families left behind and those of us that were there.
This goes to show you just how dangerous training is, not only for the Marine Corps but all our military. At times the training can be damn near as dangerous and risky as combat itself. As with my unit and many others who operate within this capacity, the training needs to be fast-paced and as realistic as possible to prepare us for the real thing.
To find out if your gear and tactics are going to work, you need to shake everything out in different training scenarios. To get a glimpse into the capabilities are of the Marine MEU(SOC) units check out the following video.
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Scott, a mutual friend shared this with me. I was on duty for the ACE that night aboard the Saipan. I grieve with you and your brothers.
Semper Fi,
Tim Hogan
Thanks, Tim! Semper Fi brother.
I was the UH-1N CC aboard the C&C aircraft (UH-1N). Admin note we (you and us) were heading into Plover (rather than Bluebird, Bluebird is right on the coast just inside the Inland waterway) with the BLT CO and a few other strap hangers (SOC evaluators). The BLT CO wanted to go meet his men in LZ plover so we knew that this was the last go of the night. We descended and were just in trail of the flight of Phrogs and watched what was supposed to be a 45 degree attack left pull off wind up with one snake going right and one going left. The one that went right realized his error and tried to correct. He got lost in the lights on courthouse bay and did not see the phrogs (NVGs washout in bright lights). I wasn’t able to even recognize or get a word out of my mouth when the snake hit the phrog and the fireball fell to the ground. The radios screamed a loud high pitched scream which made any immediate communication impossible. Until they hit the deck and exploded. The screaming stopped and we made a 180 degree turn and wound up on the other side of the New River over LZ Owl. That was a bad night for the HMM and the BLT. It’s a small Marine Corps when we were all in the same place at the same time.
Correction Sandpiper was the intended zone, Plover is where they wound up.
I was with Bravo 1\2 at the time this happened remember it well.
I’ll never forget that night! I was on OPFOR with Bravo 2LAR. Sorry for you loss!
DOC Robinson
I was in that OP with an LAR unit and remember the entire training coming to a halt that night. Just found my notes of the training exercise in my gear. So sad, first exposure to how dangerous the training exercises we participated in really were.
We had already landed and were on our way to some point when we saw the fireball in the sky. It was so bright. Our march turned into a rescue mission as we waded through the swamp to do what we could. I remember wading through a bit of water before finding the wreckage. It was horrible. I lost a good friend that night. Cpl. Britt Stacey. Thanks for sharing. Semper Fi.
That was an unforgettable night. I was with India 3/10 and wet heard and seen the explosion. Our Gunnery Sergeant had a few of the NCO’s to go and assist. Horrible scene.
We to knew Cpl Stacey as well. A friend of mind did the 21 gun salute at his funeral in Roanoke, Va. god bless him and his family and the other Marines lost that night.
Golf Co / 2nd PLT.
That element was on the helicopter that crash twice, and got kicked off twice to a bird that took of ahead. Once on ground, and bird lift off from site, upon NVGs prep the sky lit up and the net call came in as a lightning bolt.
2nd PLT was the closes to accident cite, and got on site to rescue the two pilot from the CH-46. In the mist of all, a Marine turned and said “holy fuck-balls Batman, this is the fucking bird we got kicked off from guys”…the entire swamp went silent upon acknowledgement.
May these 14 souls rest in peace, as well as the minds of the 2nd PLT Marines from G. co, that had to police their body parts as if they were leggo or Mr. Potato Head parts.
SSGT. Moses, SGT. Sippial, LCPL. Randall, LCPL. Rogers, MA, LCPL. Mapes, few of the actual first ground element.
Hi Scott, I was on your CH46E 25 years ago. I was one of two Army Soldiers on that bird. My boss, SSG Sean Carroll, died on the bird that collided. I helped carry out one of the surviving pilots. Thanks for writing this, a lot of that night is a little blurry and I’m writing about it now as part of my therapy.
OMG. I remember continuing the recovery the next day when we had daylight. We were picking up alot of gear and trying to organize it as to who it belonged to. One of the packs I found belonged to the Army PsyOps guy. And good for you writing about it. Writing has helped me alot.
Hey Scott. I was writing out my “morning report” for Instagram and came across your post. I was the Combat Engineer Squad Leader that was attached to 2/8. We were already in the ground when this tragic event happened. I will always remember that night and the actions we all took before the sun finally rose. Thanks for keeping this memory alive.
Mike Leisure
MGySgt/ USMC (Retired)
Breach or Bypass (Owner)
Scott, thanks for reminding people about this. What a rough night/morning. I was the arty Lt attached to G 2/8; Mike Leisure was our platoon sergeant in addition to leading the CE squad. I remember that night all too well. Not many months of May have passed without thinking about that night and those we lost. I remember seeing AJ Schneider, the 2/8 CommO, on my way to the flight deck that night and telling him “I’ll see you ashore” or something like that. Tragic still, 25 years on.
HM Brent W. Garmon (USN), 20, of New Bern, N.C was my cousin. Such a loss.
I remember Brent well. I also remember when one of the team leaders told us “we lost doc”. absolutely horrible night for us and the families. Brent was a great man to have served with.
Doc was such an awesome person! He stood right behind me in the dinner chow line the evening before all this happened. He asked me “Lohman, what are you going to do on leave after we get back?” I told him just go back home and spend time with friends and family. I feel so terrible that I was able to go home on leave and he didn’t have the chance. He would always call me Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins. I will never forget him!
I was on the ground with 2/6 OPFOR. I remember. God bless all. Rest In Peace. I remember.
I was there that night as well on the British side with 4th ANGLICO. We were getting ready to get on RAF Chinooks and they halted the mission when we heard of the crash. I’ll never forget our brothers. You are right, we are the only ones that remember. I can’t believe it’s been 25 years. I have a tribute in my office as well, a model CH-46 and Cobra on a shelf as well as a CH-46 pin on my world map on the Atlantic side by Lejeuene. Semper Fi brothers!
I was at Bogue Field with the British Ghurkas. We were forced to land a British Lynx in the middle of the Croatan during the stand-down.
We lost great Marines who train as hard as they fight.
It’s great to hear from brothers who shared that loss and those times.
Hi Scott I just came across you story, I remember that night well. I was in HMM-266, and I lost two good friends in the crash, the crew chiefs Brian and Brandon. I did not see the crash sight till a couple of days later when we flew over it headed back to New River.
Echo Co 2/8, First Platoon Sgt here. Echo was the boat company and my Platoon was the MSPF (maritime special purpose platoon). We flew off the Saipan earlier that night and were in the adjacent LZ waiting on more insertions from the Saipan. I was working the radio trying to recover a M249 spare barrel bag one of my Marines left on the 46 when a large fireball occured. Lots of confusion for awhile until it became known what happened. I was the SDNCO and Cpl Kirkland was my DNCO a couple nights earlier. He was a good Marine.
Someone mentioned Ssgt Moses from Golf company. He was a good friend and fellow SDNCO that could be fully trusted. S/F Marines.
I just posted below. I still think of this often.
Scott, I was with WPNS 2/8. When this happened. I had a severe eye injury and was recovering at Bethesda. I couldn’t sleep and turned on CNN at 0600. I called the Co. office because they didn’t name the unit at first. But I knew the schedule and had talked to one of my NCOs about the op the afternoon before. Heart breaking.
Scott i was a marine engineer aboard HMS Southampton on the excersise and we all felt your pain . I have always thought about this since . God bless all who serve
Thank you all for your service. My x-husband Harley Dockery, has said that he was part of this team and that he helped with the recovery.
Hi Scott,
I was a weapons specialist on an equivalent British unit (845 Naval Air Commando Squadron), our mission would have been similar. I remember that night. The exercise had just begun and we were operating our Sea King Mk4 helos from the deck of RFA St George that night. I was to be in the last wave ashore as part of our Brigade Echelon. We had loaded up and waved off the first assault and were awaiting their return when we heard there had been a mid-air. Unfortunately and coincidentally at the same time one of our own Sea Kings suffered comms failure and couldn’t be accounted for. Sickening feeling I remember my sweat running cold out on the deck in the darkness as we all thought it was one of our own that was lost. Sorry for your loss, brother.
I was on combat cargo for 1/8 on the Nassau. My platoon just left and I was ship bound due to a jacked up ankle. When we heard the birds went down I thought I lost everyone of my friends. Horrible night.
I was the crew chief on dash 3 of the mishap flight. The dash 2 CH46 was the one that the cobra collided with. I saw the cobra at the last second and as I was calling the aircraft the only words I could say at that point was power climb right. The cobra passed under us in front of our nose and I saw them impact and watched the Ch46 go into the trees and come to rest. My aircraft and dash 4 dropped our troops off on the LHA pad along the river and gave them a heading to try to get to the crash site. I made a trip to MCAS New River to get medical and fire personnel at brought them to the LZ and waited for any news. We medevaced the pilots to Lejeune hospital and were ordered to stand down at MCAS New River. There is not a day or night that I don’t think of and remember that night where we lost 14 OUTSTANDING US service members.
We were probably in your ready room together the morning of this mishap. I was the C&C UH-1N. Shit sucked. Sorry for your guys loss. We were a replacement aircraft because the skid guys you had from 167 could not get a Huey to fly that night and we caught the frag.
You were on my Bird. I was the crew chief who gave you that signal. Living with guilt for 25 years. We were supposed to be Dash 2. You were supposed to be in dash 2. A mixup and serendipity brought us into position as Dash 6. Crow was pissed we were out of position. The pilots kept trying to bounce us back up to dash 2. But settled back into -6. With both of them knowing they were going to get chewed out at the debriefing.