Columbus Air Force Base Major drowned on cruise ship

Air Force Major Drowns in Pool Aboard Cruise Ship

Sun Sentinel
By Ron Hurtibise
18 Jun 2019

An Air Force major drowned in a Caribbean Princess cruise ship pool Friday morning, the Broward Medical Examiner's Office said.

Stephen Osakue, 37, worked for the Air Force as a research pharmacist, according to a statement by the Medical Examiner's Office on Monday. Osakue was based at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi.

In an email statement, Princess Cruises spokesman Nagin Kamali said Osakue was found unresponsive in one of the ship's swimming pools about 5:15 a.m. Friday as the ship, which sails out of Port Everglades, was on the sixth day of a seven-day Western Caribbean voyage.

The ship's medical personnel were unable to revive him, Kamali said. "Appropriate authorities were notified and conducted an investigation. A final determination is pending, however authorities have indicated that this incident appears to be accidental."
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101st veteran's body found in Mississippi River

Body found in flood waters in Alexander County, IL identified as 31-year-old veteran

WPSD NBC 6 News
Krystle Callais, Rebecca Gangemella
June 1, 2019

UPDATE: The uncle of Robbin Christopher Franklin says his nephew was an army veteran who served the country in both Iraq and Afghanistan. His uncle Mark Franklin says his nephew went by Chris.

Mark tells WPSD that Chris served in the 101st Airborne out of Fort Campbell, KY. Chris lived by the river in Illinois.

As the Mississippi River rises, Mark says his family has to boat to their homes. On May 29th, Mark says Chris’s dad was boating to his home when he found his son’s body in the water.

Mark was told the death will be ruled an “accidental drowning”. The coroner says the report is not finished until the toxicology report is done. At this time, no official cause of death has been released.

His family is working on finalizing funeral arrangements with Crain Funeral Home out of Cairo, IL.
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Shannon Shaw lost battle after being sent away twice!

Wife: Drowned veteran struggled with post-traumatic stress
Associated Press
MAY 10, 2018

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — A military veteran who drowned in the Mississippi River after being rejected for treatment at a veterans' facility and instead visited a hospital emergency room had struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder since he served with the U.S. Army in the 1990s, his wife said.

Witnesses told police that they saw 49-year-old Shannon Shaw wade into the massive waterway at St. Cloud, Minnesota, fully dressed on Monday afternoon. He started to swim and they said they lost sight of him when he was about halfway across. The witnesses dialed 911.

Authorities searched the river for Shaw and divers found his body Tuesday evening.

Shaw's wife, Kristi Shaw, told The Star Tribune that he had struggled with PTSD since he served with the military police in Germany in the 1990s. She said he struggled to find adequate help, including from the VA hospital system.

"They didn't have room for him," she said. "They need to change something about the system. I don't want any vet, or anybody who needs help, to be turned away. I don't want someone else to be lost this way."

VA officials declined the newspaper's request for comment.
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Air Force veteran died saving kids from drowning

Veteran dies trying to save 2 kids from drowning at Florida beach
Military Times
By: Kyle Rempfer
3 hours ago

"Robidoux was deemed critically injured, and he was airlifted to a local hospital, where he later died. "He died as he lived — a hero," Robidoux's cousin, Annette, told Fox News. She added that he was “a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross.”"

An Air Force veteran and pilot died after attempting to save two kids from drowning at a beach along the Florida Panhandle on Saturday.

Michael Robidoux saw two kids struggling in rough surf at Navarre Beach and jumped in to try and save them, Fox News reported. The current proved too strong, though.

Navarre Fire Chief Danny Fureigh said Robidoux got "caught in an undertow" as he swam out to the struggling kids, according to WEAR TV. The Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office said the incident happened just after 6 p.m, the local ABC affiliate reported.
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Harvey Flood Waters Claimed Life of Homeless Veteran Who Died in His Wheelchair

Homeless veteran found dead in Bradenton floodwaters

FOX 13 News

Evan Axelbank

August 28, 2017

She pulled the man to the driveway, and, to her astonishment, recognized him as a homeless veteran.

BRADENTON (FOX 13) - A man was found dead in the flooding that ravaged Bradenton on Sunday.

Deputies say at around 8:45 p.m., a woman called to say she had found the man on Whitfield Ave. and 43rd Court East

"I would hate to hear one of my family members passed away that way," said Spencer, who found the man and his tipped-over wheelchair. "I ran in, grabbed my phone, dialed 911.

At first, she didn't realize what she saw in the water was a wheelchair.

"I thought that my neighbor had a garbage can out there, and I thought that is kind of silly. It was in the water, it was going to float away. I looked a little harder and I realized it looked like a wheelchair."

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Body Found in Nolan Creek Was Fort Hood Soldier

Man found dead by creek ID’d as Fort Hood soldier
Killeen Daily Herald
By Josh Sullivan and Jacob Brooks
Herald staff writers
July 5, 2017

The man found dead along Nolan Creek in Killeen on Monday evening was identified as Anthony Ray Lovell, a 40-year-old staff sergeant at Fort Hood, officials and family members confirmed.

His death was ruled an accident by the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences at Dallas. Cause of death is multiple blunt force injuries.

Killeen police were called just after 8 p.m. after the body was reportedly found behind the Brookfield Mobile Home Park near Bishop Street, police spokeswoman Ofelia Miramontez said.
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Special Forces Soldier From New Hampshire Died in Florida

Army Investigating Death Of NH Soldier During Dive Training
CBS Boston
November 5, 2016

“U.S. Army Special Forces Staff Sergeant David J. Whitcher was a decorated soldier whose service and sacrifice made our country safer and our freedom stronger,” Gov. Maggie Hassan

David Whitcher. (Image Credit: U.S. Army Special Operations Command)

MANCHESTER, N.H. (CBS/AP) — The commander of the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School says the death of a soldier from New Hampshire is “sobering reminder” of the dangerous training undertaken by the Special Forces.

The Army says 30-year-old Staff Sgt. David Whitcher of Bradford died Wednesday while dive training off of Key West, Florida. The death is under investigation.

Maj. Gen. James B. Linder said thoughts and prayers go to Whitcher’s family, including his wife and son.
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Marine Based in Okinawa Drowning Death Second This Month

Marine in Okinawa dies, second apparent drowning this month
Marine Corps Times
By: Jeff Schogol
October 29, 2016

A Marine in Okinawa has died in an apparent drowning incident, marking the second such death this month at Okinawa.

The Marine was assigned to 1st Marine Aircraft Wing with III Marine Expeditionary Force and pronounced dead at 3:40 p.m. Saturday at Medea Point, said 1st Lt. Joseph Butterfield, a spokesman for III MEF.

An investigation into the cause and circumstances of the Marine’s death is ongoing, Butterfield said Saturday in a statement. The Marine’s name is being withheld pending next-of-kin notification.
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Fort Campbell Soldier Drowned After Baptism?

Fort Campbell Soldier Drowns
News Channel 5
Ben Hall
Sep 6, 2016

Ali died on that same day, in the same creek on Fort Campbell where he was baptized.

Fort Campbell, KY - The U.S. Army is still investigating the events that led to tragic drowning of a Fort Campbell soldier earlier this summer.

But NewsChannel 5 Investigates has new information about what Army Specialist Dhaifal Ali was doing at the creek the day he died.

Pictures posted on Facebook by a fellow soldier show he was at there to be baptized.

At some point after that ceremony, Ali was swept away in swift currents and drowned.

Rescue crews launched a comprehensive search and found Ali's body five days later.

The man who baptized Ali is not an army chaplin.

Staff Sergeant Marcus Rogers is a Fort Campbell soldier who believes the world is in its final days.

Rogers has more than 400,000 followers on Facebook who watch and comment on his self recorded mini-sermons.
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Linked from Christian Post

Master Sgt. Rodney Buentello, Survived 4 Tours, Died Saving Teenagers

Marine vet killed while rescuing two teens remembered at vigil
San Antonio Express News
By Kate Carlson and Madalyn Mendoza
June 10, 2016

Rodney Buentello survived four combat tours — one in war-torn Afghanistan and three in Iraq — and twice received the Purple Heart for combat wounds suffered during his 21-year Marine Corps career.

People attend a candlelight vigil held, Thursday June 9, 2016 at John Jay High School, in remembrance of Master Sgt. Rodney Buentello, 42, who died on June 8, 2016 as he saved two teens caught in the undertow of the Medina River. Buentello was a 1992 John Jay High School graduate and worked at the school. About 300 people attended the vigil

Though he’d suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder in the years since his 2013 retirement from the military, the Jay High School graduate and father of three was happy to finally be home, working as an in-school suspension instructional assistant and volunteer coach at his alma mater, his wife, Lisa Buentello, said Thursday evening.

“He lost many Marines in his arms,” she said before leading about 300 high school students, friends and family in prayer to honor her husband, who died after saving the lives of two teenagers. “Seeing any young person in need, he would do whatever he could to take care of them. He tried to live life to save other people.”

Buentello, 42, drowned Wednesday while rescuing a teenage boy and girl caught in a hydraulic undertow at the dam in Bandera City Park.
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Tragic End To Search for Fort Hood Soldiers, 9 Confirmed Dead

9 confirmed dead in Fort Hood training accident
Killeen Daily Herald
Clay Thorp
Herald Staff Writer
June 3, 2016

The search for four missing Fort Hood soldiers came to a tragic end Friday.

A total of nine Fort Hood soldiers were confirmed dead Friday evening, after rescue teams located the bodies of the remaining four soldiers missing after Thursday’s deadly Owl Creek accident.

Floodwaters swept away an Army vehicle Thursday, killing nine and injuring three. The three surviving soldiers were released from Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood on Friday afternoon.

“On behalf of the city of Killeen, I extend my deepest sympathy to Fort Hood,” said Mayor Jose Segarra on Friday afternoon. “In times of tragedy, the bond between city and fort is ever present, and we stand ready to assist in the days to come.”
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First Responders Share Suffering With Fort Hood Families

First responder in Fort Hood tragedy speaks out
Killeen Daily Herald
Clay Thorp
Herald Staff Writer
June 3, 2016

“From myself, my officers and my crews, we’re here to help them and we’re devastated when we can’t. We can’t pretend to understand their pain. We can’t pretend to understand their loss. But we do share in their suffering.”
Jeff Mincy

Crews search for 4 missing in Texas from flooded Army truck
Morgan's Point Resort Fire and Rescue works on Lake Belton near the scene of an accident at Fort Hood at Owl Creek Park near Gatesville, Texas, on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Fort Hood says several soldiers are dead and six are missing after an Army troop truck was washed from a low-water crossing and overturned in a rain-swollen creek at Fort Hood in Central Texas. A statement from the Texas Army post says the accident happened about 11:30 a.m. Thursday in an area near Cold Springs and Owl Creek.

(Michael Miller/The Temple Daily Telegram via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

When Jeff Mincy arrived on the scene of a deadly swift water rescue on Fort Hood Thursday, he said, he didn't see the Army’s large troop carrying vehicle, which was later found in the usually dry Owl Creek.

“It was flowing pretty fast,” said Mincy, a seven-year chief of EMS in Coryell County, of Owl Creek. “I can’t estimate how fast it was flowing, but it was faster than I would have felt comfortable putting anything into the water. When we did find the vehicle, we could see the tires sticking up out of the water, so in that position where the vehicle settled, it had to have been about eight feet deep.”

Five Army soldiers died and at least three were injured in connection with the Army light medium tactical vehicle accident Thursday morning where Owl Creek meets East Range Road on Fort Hood.

Crews are still searching for at least four missing soldiers, according to Army officials.
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Fort Hood Grieving for Soldiers Lost in Accident

Search ongoing for missing soldiers at Fort Hood
Killeen Daily Herald
June 3, 2016

FORT HOOD ACCIDENT MM 02

A Texas DPS helicopter flies over Lake Belton near the scene of an accident at Fort Hood at Owl Creek Park in Gatesville on Thursday, June 2, 2016.

FORT HOOD - Officials said the overturning of an armored vehicle that left five Fort Hood soldiers dead and another four missing Thursday remains under investigation today.

Names are not being released at this time.

Maj. Gen. John Uberti and officials with III Corps held a brief news conference on the matter this morning.

"This accident is a tragedy – the loss of one soldier is too many," said Chris Haug, III Corps media relations chief.

The armored vehicle the soldiers were in overturned at a low-water crossing during a training mission. Officials said the truck overturned at the Owl Creek tactical low-water crossing and East Range Road near north Belton Lake. Owl Creek is on the northern fringe of Fort Hood.

Three soldiers were in stable condition Thursday evening at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center. They were rescued from the water near the vehicle and immediately transported to the Coryell Memorial Healthcare System in Gatesville before their transfer to Darnall.

Emergency responders continued searching for soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
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Army Specialist Caleb Collins Died Trying To Save Friends

Selfless Soldier St. Aug Alum Remembered As A Hero
Eyewitness News WWLTV
Thanh Truong
August 2, 2015


NEW ORLEANS -- The funeral for a local soldier who died while trying to save a fellow service member from drowning in Hawaii is now set for next week.

Caleb Collins was assigned to the Army's 25th Infantry Division, but before that, he was a member of the St. Augustine Purple Knights, a high school his father says helped mold his son into a soldier ready to sacrifice.

With children, you hope they'll grow up to do great things.

"It's very common for them to say, 'When I grow up, I want to be like my dad.' Well, isn't a blessing that I get to say I want to be like my son," Ernest Collins.

It's been less than a week since Ernest Collins lost his only son. On July 25, Army specialist Caleb Collins was with friends taking pictures near the eastern shoreline on the island of Oahu. That's when a massive wave rolled in, knocking one of his friends into the water. Caleb immediately dove in.

"He had actually reached his friend, and the two of them were actually making their way back to safety, when a second huge wave came in and swallowed them up," said Ernest Collins.


Their bodies were found the next day.
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Bodies of 2 Schofield Soldiers Recovered from Sea

Bodies of 2 Schofield Soldiers Recovered from Sea
Honolulu Star Advertiser
Rob Skikina
July 27, 2015

The bodies of two Schofield Barracks soldiers were recovered Sunday, a day after they were swept into the ocean near Halona Blowhole during a large swell that hampered search efforts.

Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Kendall Ching confirmed that a body found ashore just before 7 p.m. was that of the second soldier.

The second body washed up on a rocky shoreline just east of Halona Blowhole shortly before 7 p.m., just as firefighters were wrapping up a daylong search for the man because of oncoming darkness.

Firefighters had been planning to resume the search at daylight.

Ching said a large swell brought in the man's body, which was spotted by a bystander.

A crowd gathered at the scenic lookout as police covered the body with a yellow sheet until authorities could carry it up a hill to the roadway.

The first soldier was found earlier in the day.

The men were washed out to sea from Halona Cove at about 4:45 p.m. Saturday during rough surf conditions.

Battalion Chief Geoff Chang of the Honolulu Fire Department said the men were on the rocks taking pictures at the cove when a wave swept the 21-year-old man into the ocean. The man's friend, 22, tried to help and was also swept into the ocean.

A third man was also swept into the water, but he was able to climb back out, Chang said.

Master Sgt. Mark St. Clair, a spokesman for the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, said the three men at the cove were soldiers. He said the identities of the two men washed away are being withheld pending notification of their families and units.
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Two Navy SEALs Died in Training Accident

2nd Navy SEAL dies after accident in Little Creek pool 
Pilot Online
Virginia Pilot
Lauren King
April 7, 2015

A second Navy SEAL involved in an accident at a Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek pool has died.

Petty Officer 1st Class Brett Allen Marihugh, 34, of Livonia, Mich., died Sunday afternoon of his injuries, according to Lt. David Lloyd, a Naval Special Warfare Group 2 spokesman. Marihugh and Petty Officer 1st Class Seth Cody Lewis were found unresponsive Friday in a swimming pool on base while doing physical fitness training.

Both belonged to Naval Special Warfare Group 2, and Lloyd said in a news release that the two men were discovered at the bottom of the pool by service members assigned to the Combat Swimmer Training Facility, which is used by members of the SEAL team for regular fitness training.

Lewis was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Sentara Leigh Hospital, the news release said. Marihugh had been in critical condition and was transferred to Sentara Virginia Beach General, where he later died.
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Linked from Military.com

Family needs help, Afghanistan veteran drowned in lake

Ryan Tyndall drowned in Lake Allatoona leaving behind a wife, two children, and a third on the way
WXIA News
Kevin Rowson
July 31, 2014

SNELLVILLE, Ga -- Ryan Tyndall was a lot of things but mostly a good husband and father, according to his sister. But now his family is in need and Lisa Tyndall wants to make sure they get what they need.

Ryan took his wife Tina and two children, Chance, 5, and Alicia, 2, camping on Lake Allatoona last weekend. The Tyndalls were planning to give their family good news: Tina was pregnant with their third child. Their family only found out that news after Ryan drowned Sunday.

The doting father jumped into the lake when a float got away from his children. When he reached the float, about 75-yards from shore, something happened.

"They heard him yell 'help me'," his sister said. "One of the guys that was there looked and he jumped in and by the time he made it out there to him, they couldn't find him."

"I don't know if he just got tired and he got some water in his lungs or what happened, but he didn't make it," Lisa Tyndall said.

Ryan Tyndall, is a US Army veteran, who served in Afghanistan. His sister said he had a hard time finding jobs after he came home. "He was looking for work trying to take care of his family and he was having a hard time finding good jobs," she said. "Right before this happened it seemed like it was starting to fall in place."

She said Ryan was working for a landscaper and was given his own truck and was promoted to supervisor.

After living in hotels he and his family were looking for a home.

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Navy SEAL's body still missing after dive in 2013

Navy: SEAL Died in Dive Full of Safety Lapses
Honolulu Advertiser
by William Cole
Apr 21, 2014

Leathers was described as a "super-nice guy" who would give others the shirt off his back, according to friends and media reports. He was the father of three young children and had deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The disappearance last year of a Pearl Harbor Navy SEAL who was spearfishing with other unit members on a training free dive off Kaena Point was accompanied by sweeping procedural and safety violations, according to the Navy's investigative report.

The death of special operations Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew John Leathers, 33, was likely caused by drowning due to shallow-water blackout during the breath-hold dive training, the command investigation concluded. No scuba gear was used for the exercise.

Leathers, a member of SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1, was wearing an estimated 8- to 10-pound weight belt on the day of his disappearance, Feb. 19, 2013, according to the report.

He was likely negatively buoyant, which would have kept him under water after a blackout, the report said. His body was never found.
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Four sailors arraigned in deaths of Navy divers at Aberdeen

Four sailors arraigned in deaths of Navy divers at Aberdeen
The Virginian-Pilot
By Mike Hixenbaugh
Published: October 9, 2013

NORFOLK, Va. — A military judge has reserved most of January for the trials of four sailors charged for their roles in the accidental deaths of two Navy divers.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jason M. Bennett, Chief Petty Officer Gary G. Ladd Jr., Senior Chief Petty Officer David C. Jones and Senior Chief Petty Officer James C. Burger, all of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, were arraigned Wednesday at Norfolk Naval Station.

All four are charged with dereliction of duty in connection to the Feb. 26 deaths of Petty Officer 1st Class James Reyher and Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan Harris, who died during a training dive at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

Marine Capt. Keaton Harrell, the lead prosecutor, told the judge, Cmdr. Colleen Glaser-Allen, that the cases are complicated and each is likely to require several days of testimony.

A fifth sailor, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Mark Smith, accepted administrative punishment for his role in the training accident. The four facing courts-martial refused to accept non-judicial punishment, known as captain’s mast.
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Fort Bliss soldier dies swimming in New Mexico

Wisconsin soldier drowns in New Mexico
Spc. Rob Vande Zande was 21.
By: Associated Press report, Fond du Lac (Wis.) Reporter
September 17, 2013

FOND DU LAC, Wis. — A U.S. Army soldier from Fond du Lac has died while swimming in New Mexico.

Spc. Rob Vande Zande was 21. His wife, Sarah, is due to give birth to their daughter in November. Vande Zande is the oldest son of former Fond du Lac Councilman Rob Vande Zande Sr.
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