Military Connection: All Black Hawk Crash Victims Identified
By Debbie Gregory.
The identities of the service members killed in the March 10thhelicopter crash in Florida’s Santa Rosa Sound have been released to the media.
The service members lost their lives when a Black Hawk Helicopter went down during a nighttime training exercise off the coast of Florida’s Panhandle. Four of the victims were the helicopter’s pilots and crew, members of the Louisiana National Guard. The remaining seven were passengers from the 2nd Special Operations Battalion of the Marine Corps Special Operations Command, out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
The names of the seven Marines were released on March 13th. The fallen Marines have been identified as:
- Captain Stanford Henry Shaw III from Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
- Master Sergeant Thomas A. Saunders, originally from Bonn, Germany.
- Staff Sergeant Marcus S. Bawol of Warren, Michigan.
- Staff Sergeant Trevor P. Blaylock from Lake Orion, Michigan.
- Staff Sergeant Liam Flynn, originally from Reading, England.
- Staff Sgt. Kerry Michael Kemp, originally from Memphis, Tennessee.
- Staff Sergeant Andrew C. Seif from Holland, Michigan.
The names of the four members of the Louisiana National Guard were released on March 16th. The two pilots and two crew members were identified as:
- Chief Warrant Officer George Wayne Griffin Jr. of Delhi, Louisiana.
- Chief Warrant Officer George David Strother of Alexandria, Louisiana.
- Staff Sergeant Lance Bergeron of Thibodaux, Louisiana.
- Staff Sergeant Thomas Florich of Fairfax, Virginia.
The cause of the crash is still unknown. The incident is still under military investigation by the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center, out of Fort Rucker, Alabama.
At MilitaryConnection.com, we celebrate the service of our men and women in uniform, and mourn the loss of the fallen. Our staff would like to send our heart-felt condolences to the families, friends and comrades of the fallen from the 2nd Special Operations Battalion and the Louisiana National Guard.
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Military Connection: All Black Hawk Crash Victims Identified: By Debbie Gregory
