Six Marine Helicopter Crash Victims in Nepal Identified

Six Marine Helicopter Crash Victims in Nepal Identified
Military.com
Richard Sisk
May 18, 2015

The remains of six Marines and two Nepalese soldiers who died in the May 12 crash of their helicopter while on an earthquake relief mission in the Himalayas have been recovered and identified.

Marine Lt. Gen. John Wissler thanked U.S. and Nepalese search and recovery teams that found the charred wreckage of the Marine UH-1Y Huey helicopter in dense forest at an elevation of more than 11,000 feet and recovered the remains despite mountain storms and temperatures below freezing.

"You never hesitated in the joint effort to bring our brothers home. Everyone united -- the soldiers hiking through hazardous terrain, the pilots flying in uncertain weather conditions and the Nepalese special forces standing watch over our Marines on a mountainside at night," Wissler said.

"We honor our fallen comrades through our unselfish support to each other in this time of grief," said Wissler, commander of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force and of Joint Task Force 505 which arrived in Nepal on April 29 following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 8,000.

The six Marines aboard the Huey from Marine Light Attack Helicopter squadron 469 based at Camp Pendleton, Calif., were identified as:

Capt. Christopher L. Norgren, 31, of Sedgwick, Kans.
He was a UH-1Y pilot with HMLA-469, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Camp Pendleton.

Capt. Dustin R. Lukasiewicz, 29, of Harlan, Neb.
He also was a UH-1Y pilot and was with the same unit as Norgren.

Sgt. Ward M. Johnson, IV, 29, of Seminole, Fla.
He was a UH-1Y helicopter crew chief with HMLA-469.

Sgt. Eric M. Seaman, 30, of Riverside, Calif.
He was a UH-1Y helicopter crew chief with HMLA-469

Cpl. Sara A. Medina, 23, of Kane, Ill.
She was a combat photographer with Marine Corps Installations Pacific in Okinawa, Japan.

Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Hug, 22, of Maricopa, Ariz.
He was a combat videographer with Marine Corps Installations Pacific, Okinawa, Japan.

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