DoD names troops killed in Chinook shot down, 2 from Florida

DoD names troops killed in Chinook shootdown
Staff reports
Posted : Thursday Aug 11, 2011 11:08:08 EDT
The identities of 30 U.S. service members killed last week in the Afghan war’s deadliest episode have been made public by the Defense Department after several days of debate over whether to release their names.

These men were assigned to an East Coast-based naval special warfare unit:

• Lt. Cmdr. (SEAL) Jonas B. Kelsall, 32, of Shreveport, La.

• Master Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Louis J. Langlais, 44, of Santa Barbara, Calif.

• Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Thomas A. Ratzlaff, 34, of Green Forest, Ark.

• Senior Chief Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician (EXW/FPJ) Kraig M. Vickers 36, of Kokomo, Hawaii.

• Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Brian R. Bill, 31, of Stamford, Conn.

• Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) John W. Faas, 31, of Minneapolis.

• Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Kevin A. Houston, 35, of West Hyannisport, Mass.

• Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Matthew D. Mason, 37, of Kansas City, Mo.

• Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, Texas.

• Chief Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician (EXW/FPJ/DV) Nicholas H. Null, 30, of Washington, W.Va.

• Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Robert J. Reeves, 32, of Shreveport, La.

• Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Heath M. Robinson, 34, of Detroit.

• Special Warfare Operator 1st Class (SEAL) Darrik C. Benson, 28, of Angwin, Calif.

• Special Warfare Operator 1st Class (SEAL/PJ) Christopher G. Campbell, 36, of Jacksonville, N.C.

• Information Systems Technician 1st Class (EXW/FPJ) Jared W. Day, 28, of Taylorsville, Utah.

• Master-at-Arms 1st Class (EXW) John Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, Neb.

• Cryptologic Technician (Collection) 1st Class (EXW) Michael J. Strange, 25, of Philadelphia.

• Special Warfare Operator 1st Class (SEAL/SW) Jon T. Tumilson, 35, of Rockford, Iowa.

• Special Warfare Operator 1st Class (SEAL) Aaron C. Vaughn, 30, of Stuart, Fla.

• Special Warfare Operator 1st Class (SEAL) Jason R. Workman, 32, of Blanding, Utah.

These sailors were assigned to a West Coast-based naval special warfare unit:

• Special Warfare Operator 1st Class (SEAL) Jesse D. Pittman, 27, of Ukiah, Calif.

• Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class (SEAL) Nicholas P. Spehar, 24, of Saint Paul, Minn.

The soldiers killed were:

• Chief Warrant Officer David R. Carter, 47, of Centennial, Colo. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), of Aurora, Colo.

• Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Nichols, 31, of Hays, Kan.

• Sgt. Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb.

• Sgt. Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Wash.

• Spc. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan.

The airmen killed, all assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron of Pope Field, N.C., were:

• Tech. Sgt. John W. Brown, 33, of Tallahassee, Fla.

• Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Harvell, 26, of Long Beach, Calif.

• Tech. Sgt. Daniel L. Zerbe, 28, of York, Pa.


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Witnesses: Chinook on fire at time of crash
By Deb Riechmann - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Aug 11, 2011 10:06:49 EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Chinook helicopter that insurgents shot down over the weekend burst into flames before hitting the ground, leaving wreckage scattered on both sides of a river in eastern Afghanistan and killing 30 Americans and eight Afghans, witnesses told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Farhad, a resident of Tangi Valley in Wardak province where the helicopter crashed before dawn Saturday, told Associated Press Television News at the site that it was brought down by a rocket-propelled grenade fired from a hillside that he pointed to.

"As soon as it was hit, it started burning," he said, standing in a field still littered with small pieces of the chopper, a part of a gun stamped "Made in Germany" and a piece of paper with typewritten first aid instructions. "After it started burning, it crashed. It came down in three pieces," he added. "We could see it burning from our homes."

Many of the victims' bodies were badly mangled and burned, said Farhad, who like many Afghans uses only one name.

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