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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Second Marine Died After Nepal Crash

Family mourns 'angel' killed in Marine helicopter crash 
Chicago Tribune
By Linda Girardi
Aurora Beacon-News
May 17, 2015

She was engaged to a fellow Marine from Colorado, and they planned to marry in August, her brother said.

It was Mother's Day when Carlos Medina teased his younger sister, Marine Cpl. Sara A. Medina, about her not being able to join in for a family photo because she was overseas.

The Facebook message to her that day included a picture of their mother, Cecilia Lopez, along with himself and his two young sons.

"I told Sara, 'We miss you' and that 'The only person missing is you,'"Carlos Medina said Sunday. "She told me that she would be with us very soon."

But instead of a reunion, the family is experiencing heartbreak. Sara Medina, 23, of Aurora, was killed in a helicopter crash last week during a relief mission in earthquake-hit Nepal, along with five other Marines and two soldiers from Nepal's army.
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Nepal Army Says Bodies of US Marines Recovered After Huey Crash

All 8 bodies found at crashed US Marine chopper, Nepal army says 
Associated Press
May 16, 2015

KATHMANDU, Nepal – The bodies of all eight people on board the U.S. Marine helicopter that disappeared this week during a relief mission in earthquake-hit Nepal have been recovered, Nepal's army said Saturday.

The wreckage was found on Friday and the first three bodies retrieved the same day by Nepalese and U.S. military personnel from the crash site in the mountains northeast of capital Kathmandu.

The Nepalese army said in a statement Saturday that the remaining five bodies were also recovered. 

The discovery of the wreckage followed days of intense search involving U.S. and Nepali aircraft and U.S. satellites.

The aircraft, with six Marines and two Nepali soldiers on board, went missing while delivering aid on Tuesday. Lt. Gen. John Wissler, commander of the Marine-led joint task force, told reporters in Kathmandu on Friday that his team could not immediately identify the cause of the crash of the UH-1 "Huey" or identify the bodies found. read more here

Nepal: Marine Helicopter "Found in Burned Condition"

Minister: 3 bodies found with wreckage of missing U.S. helicopter in Nepal
CNN
By Sugam Pokharel, Sumnima Udas and Ed Payne
May 15, 2015

Story highlights

Three bodies have been found with burned aircraft wreckage, says Nepal's defense secretary
A U.S. military helicopter is found on the slopes of a mountain east of Kathmandu, Nepali army official says
The chopper, which had six U.S. Marines and two Nepalis aboard, had been missing since Tuesday

Kathmandu, Nepal (CNN)Three bodies have been found with the wreckage of what's thought to be a missing U.S. Marine helicopter, Nepal's Defense Secretary Ishwori Paudyal said Friday.

The helicopter wreckage was found in a burned condition, Paudyal told CNN.

The news came only hours after a local army official said the wreckage of the helicopter -- missing since Tuesday with six U.S. marines and two Nepali service members on board -- had been found on the steep slopes of a mountain east of Kathmandu.

The American chopper was spotted in the Gorthali area, at an altitude of 11,200 feet, according to Brig. Gen. Binoj Basnet.

The U.S. Joint Task Force confirmed the sighting of possible aircraft wreckage near Charikot. It has not yet commented on the reported discovery of bodies.
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Marine from Florida Among Missing in Nepal

Marine from Altamonte Springs among those missing in Nepal chopper
Sgt. Mark Johnson IV's chopper went missing Tuesday
WESH2 News
By Chris Hush
Published 10:59 PM EDT May 13, 2015

"We were terrified the entire eight months he was in Afghanistan, but when he said he had to go to Nepal to deliver food, we were just proud of him,” Ward Johnson said.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. —Army helicopters have joined the search for the missing U.S. Marine Corps helicopter that vanished Tuesday in Nepal.

The chopper was delivering disaster aid following the earthquake that killed more than 8,000 people in the country.

U.S. Marine Sgt. Mark Johnson IV, an Altamonte Springs native and father of two, is believed to have been on board that helicopter.

"We said, ‘Love you, be safe,’ and (those) were the last words we said to him,” said Shirley Johnson, Mark Johnson’s mother.

Shirley Johnson and her husband, Ward Johnson III, said they wait by their phones and the door for any indication that their son is OK.
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Six Marines Missing in Nepal Humanitarian Mission

US Marine helicopter missing in Nepal earthquake aid mission 
FOX News
May 12, 2015

A U.S. Marine Corps helicopter was reported missing in Nepal Tuesday while conducting disaster relief operations following the second deadly earthquake to strike the region in three weeks.

The Huey was delivering tarps and rice to victims near Charikot. Six U.S. Marines and two Nepalese soldiers were aboard the helicopter.

Pentagon Spokesman Col. Steve Warren said there are "no indications of a crash," because the area is rugged.

No emergency beacon was detected. Other aircraft nearby heard the helicopter's pilot say something about a "fuel problem." read more here

Indian flood victims face food shortages

Indian flood victims face food shortages
Story Highlights
Indian flood victims now face food shortages

450,000 families displaced after dam in Nepal broke on August 18

2.7 million people in 1,600 villages might have been affected

Agencies scramble to help, but damaged infrastructure hampers efforts

PURNIA, India (CNN) -- The piercing wails from little lungs fill the air at this makeshift relief camp in Bihar's flood-ravaged Purnia district.


The babies scream for food. Their mothers cradle them in loving arms but cannot soothe the hunger in their bellies.

Food is scarce for the hundreds of people who have sought shelter here. They huddle under tents made from blankets and propped up by bamboo stems.

And when aid workers ration out rice, they quickly devour it.

"We ran for our lives and now we are dying here for food," said Bachni Devi, who arrived at the camp with ten small children and a pregnant daughter in tow.

"We are dying even for clothes. All our animals are also dying."

Government officials say that 450,000 families have been displaced after a dam in Nepal broke on August 18. It breached the eastern embankment of the Kosi River, a waterway that straddles the India-Nepal border.

Water flushed through the breach so forcefully that the river changed course in Bihar, gobbling up thousands of villages and marooning residents on thin strips of dry land in India and Nepal.
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http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/08/31/india.floods/index.html