Sea Knight Down
Boston-area woman, USMC Capt. Jennifer Harris, an “overachiever” and Annapolis grad, piloted the Sea Knight helicopter that went down in Anbar, killing all seven Marines onboard. Boston Herald story here:
“She was a great kid,” said Swampscott town veterans agent Jim Schultz. “This was her third tour. She was scheduled to come home next week.”
The crash - which killed five Marines and two sailors - remains under investigation by the Pentagon, with conflicting reports over what caused the aircraft to go down. Military officials told the Associated Press that mechanical problems caused the crash, while Iraqi officials say an insurgent anti-aircraft missile struck the helicopter. A terrorist group in Iraq claimed responsibility for the crash.
Swampscott hosted a “Welcome Home” party for Harris last summer and she kept in regular contact with folks back home, Schultz said.
“The police department sent her a care package, and she just sent one back,” he said.
He said in exchange for the baby wipes, soap, lip balm and regular essentials desert-stationed Marines request, Harris returned the favor by sending the police department a package with her squadron’s T-shirts, a flag that flew over a post in Iraq, and squadron patches. The package arrived about a week and a half ago, he said.
She was assigned to HMM-364,the “Purple Foxes,” a storied Marine squadron with a history that pre-dates the Vietnam War, the era when the CH-46 helicopter, also called the “Phrog,” was first introduced.
NYT: Spike in helicopter crashes suggests change in tactics.
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 9:02 am on Thursday, February 8, 2007
One Response to “Sea Knight Down”
Leave a Reply
Trackback URLYou must be logged in to post a comment.
February 8th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Tough losses. May you all, rest in peace.