Worst loss of Hawaii-based troops since Pearl Harbor

[Judi Lynn]

January 27, 2005
Worst loss of Hawaii-based troops since Pearl Harbor

By B.J. REYES
Associated Press Writer

KAILUA, Hawaii - A sudden and painful reminder of the war in Iraq hit this state with word that 27 Marines from one base had been killed in the worst loss of Hawaii-based troops since Pearl Harbor.

All but three of the 30 Marines and one sailor killed when a helicopter crashed Wednesday in a desert sandstorm had been deployed from the Marine Corps base at Kaneohe Bay, according to Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii.

"We are particularly feeling the effects of the war in Hawaii," Akaka said in a statement from his Washington office. "My heartfelt thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies go to the families of each Marine."

The crash shook the Windward Oahu community near the base as residents awaited the names of the dead. "Your heart just sinks," said Bobbie Jerome, 34, whose Marine husband has not been deployed to Iraq.
(snip/...)

http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=74453

[lebkuchen]

1. As the military spouses here rationalize it,

"War is hell."

Ho hum.

[KamaAina]

2. Not to mention our worst loss of life in one day since 1960

when a tsunami (yup) struck Hilo on the Big Island, killing 41. :(

[katinmn]

3. My heart goes out to all the grieving families in Hawaii

:-(

Have we had enough of this senseless war yet?

[Scurrilous]

4. More on yesterday's (1/26) casualties:

http://www.registerbee.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=DRB/MGArticle/DRB_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031780492605

Four Lynchburg-based Marines killed, four hurt in Iraq

<snip>

"Four members of the Marine Reserve unit based in Lynchburg were killed and four were injured in combat in Iraq Wednesday.
One of the Marines, Sgt. Jesse Strong, 24, of Albany, Vt., was a seminary student at Liberty University in Lynchburg, according to Capt. Jamie Wagner, the senior active duty adviser with Company C, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion in Lynchburg.

Lance Cpl. Mark Miller of Bedford was hospitalized with minor injuries, Wagner said. Cpl. Timothy Franklin of Lynchburg was also treated for injuries.

The other men killed during an ambush on a convoy near Hadithah in western Iraq were Cpl. Johnson Bowling, 23, of Stuart, Cpl. Christopher Weaver, 24, of Fredericksburg, and Lance Cpl. Karl Linn, 20 of Chesterfield."

<snip>

"Wagner identified the other injured as Cpl. Charles Gentry, Cumberland, Tenn. and Sgt. William Meyers of Mooresville, N.C.

In Iraq, Company C was involved with the search for weapons caches, sweeping roads for explosives and building fighting positions, Wagner said."