Hurlburt salutes aircrew killed in Afghanistan crash
Published Friday, March 28, 2003
Kimberly Blair
With so much focus on the war with Iraq, the ongoing war on terrorism in Afghanistan and other parts of the world may have slipped below notice for many.
Thursday's memorial service at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., for the aircrew of an Air Force Pave Hawk helicopter that crashed in Afghanistan on March 23 was a sobering reminder Americans still are in harm's way there.
Among the six who died were two special operations pararescuemen, including Sgt. Michael Maltz. He instructed many of the younger pararescueman assigned to Hurlburt Field, and members of the close-knit pararescue and combat control community from Hurlburt's Air Force Special Operations Command attended the memorial.
"It is a huge loss emotionally to everyone in such a tightknit community," said Scott Gearen, who could not attend the memorial because of work obligations.
The retired pararescueman from Navarre was friends with Maltz.
"Mike Maltz had been in the Air Force about 24 years. He was scheduled to retire, but four days before retirement he called to have his retirement papers taken back because he wanted to volunteer to stay on and do this mission," said Gearen, now a civilian instructor at Hurlburt's command and control warrior school.
Maltz was among the crew led by Lt. Col. John Stein. They died when their helicopter from Air Combat Command at Moody crashed 18 miles north of Ghanzi, Afghanistan, on its way to rescue Afghan children.
The crash is under investigation but was not a result of enemy fire, officials at U.S. Central Command at McDill Air Force Base in Tampa say.
The second pararescueman, Senior Airman Jason Plite, was on his first assignment, said Wayne Norrad, a retired combat controller who heads the Air Force STARS, a precision parachute team headquartered at Hurlburt.
"This is a blow to the entire Air Force because we lost two pilots, a gunner and a flight engineer, too," he said.
The three other crew members: Co-pilot 1st. Lt. Tamara Archuleta; aerial gunner Staff Sgt. Jason Hicks; and flight engineer Staff Sgt. John Teal.
Operation Enduring Freedom has taken a high toll on the small community of pararescuemen, who number some 350. They are warrior medics who infiltrate enemy lines to save air crews and other service members.
Two were killed February 2002 in the Philippines, and one was killed in Afghanistan on March 2, 2002, along with a combat controller.
Some 9,000 American troops and thousands of coalition forces are fighting the war on terrorism in Afghanistan.
On March 20, one day after the war with Iraq ignited, about 1,000 troops launched a raid on villages in southeastern Afghanistan, hunting members of the al- Qaida. The operation, dubbed Valiant Strike, continues today. Troops are finding large weapons caches. Meanwhile, humanitarian efforts continue in the region.
"Certainly operations in Iraq garnered extensive media attention. This helicopter crash occurred at the same time when there was a lot of focus on casualties in Iraqi," said Lt. Cmdr. Nick Balice, spokesman for U.S. Central Command at McDill. "We need to remind people we continue to prosecute the war in Afghanistan and in the Horn of Africa," where U.S. military forces are watching for al-Qaida remnants, he said.
The below letter was an email. It's subject line said "A letter from Afghanistan - The Last Full Measure" It's author is an A-10 pilot. The A-10's protect the rescue helicopters during combat search and rescue missions. They fill the roll that the A-1 "Sandy" pilots did during the Vietnam War.
Dear friends,
I'm sorry that I haven't written in awhile, but things have been really busy here. Let me tell you about yesterday. A warning in advance that this is not my usual email...
I was Top-3, which means that I wasn't flying but was supervisor during the night shift. My shift got off to an easy start with thunderstorms over the field. Our first go cancelled and I settled in to get some email and paperwork done. The first report came in around 1600 - we had a helicopter down. As you can imagine, that sets off certain bells and whistles that starts to make things happen. As A-10 pilots, we are also trained as Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) pilots, so we scrambled 2 guys airborne to aid in the search and recovery. Not long after the initial report came in, we received the awful news that all 6 crewmembers on board were killed. Worse, it was an Air Force rescue helicopter. Because we are CSAR pilots, A-10 pilots have a special affinity towards rescue pilots and pararescuemen. "PJs" are the ones who will come down on the ground and get us if we are ever shot down. I knew 2 of the six, and I spent a day with this particular squadron down in Kandahar only two weeks ago.
A second helicopter that was trailing them was on scene, but had to leave the area as an unknown convoy was approaching the scene. This was of particular concern, because (1) we did not want anyone to desecrate the bodies (like you are seeing in Iraq now), and (2) we did not want to lose the classified equipment on board the helicopter. Fortunately none of that happened, and I have to leave the operational details out of this email. But what I want to share with you is what happened afterward...
The second helicopter had to come to Bagram to land. We are the only Air Force unit here. So, we took the lead in making sure they were met at the aircraft, fed, counseled, etc. As Top-3, I personally met them and escorted them around the base. Obviously, the crew on the second helicopter was fairly shaken up. They had witnessed the accident and had been the first on scene to confirm all 6 were killed. Unfortunately, in times like this the first thing we have to do is all safety related - take statements, interview all the participants, etc. During the interview process we received word that the remains were inbound to Bagram. I took the second crew out to the flightline to meet the recovery helicopter.
It was pitch black outside, no moon, and the base was in black-out conditions. The second crew and I stood on the flightline as the remains were transloaded from the helicopter into waiting ambulances. Just our small group, saluting, as these five brave men and ane brave woman were carefully and respectfully placed aboard the ambulances. One of the most somber moments of my life.
We followed the ambulances to the hospital, where we allowed the second crew to pay their last respects to their squadron comrades. When they were finished, they sat down with a "stress response" team consisting of a chaplain, psychologist and social worker.
As the remains were being processed through Mortuary Affairs, we had an overabundance of volunteers to participate in the ceremony moving them from the mortuary to the C-17 for the final flight home. Two former members of the Air Force Honor Guard stepped up to teach the rest of us how to do the basics, like marching with the caskets. We practiced all afternoon to make sure we had our stuff together, then waited for word of when the flight was due in.
Bagram is an Army base, and the Army leadership stepped up - not to take over, simply to make sure the AF had everything we needed to respect our fallen comrades. The body bearers met that morning, and walked out onto the flightline to move down to the mortuary, which is on the south end of the airfield. The brigade Sergeant Major met us at the flightline with six immaculate HMMWVs to transport the caskets. We got to the mortuary and immediately began to load the caskets into the the HMMWVs, then lined them up for a long walk to the aircraft's parking spot.
It had rained the day before, and there were several huge puddles as we left the mortuary. No one cared as the water spilled over the tops of their boots. Everyone was looking straight ahead, marching with as much military bearing as I have ever seen. We turned onto Disney Drive, named for yet another fallen hero, Jason Disney, who was an engineer killed in an accident at Bagram last summer.
As we marched next to the vehicles, you could see people spilling out from all of the buildings and compounds on each side of the road to pay their respects. There are more than 15 countries with forces at Bagram, and -- completely unplanned -- every last one of them was represented along the road as we passed. Small groups of people, some people by themselves, stood in silence, saluting as the vehicles passed slowly. It was very moving, as we had simply planned to honor our brothers and sisters with a dignified movement; it felt as though the entire base made its sadness known. We turned the corner onto Echo Drive, heading out the airfield, and the street was lined to the point of being crowded with coalition personnel, all ready to pay their respects. Salutes went up as the first vehicle passed, and the only sound you could hear was the HMMWVs idling.
The ceremony actually began as the HMMWVs parked in a row perpendicular to the aircraft parking spot. There were two lines of 50 people each, 50 Army and 50 AF, in a gauntlet leading up to the rear ramp. The first group of body bearers began their sequence to remove the casket from the HMMWV, and proceeded to the plane. I was in the second group, and upon the signal to begin, we pulled the casket out, turned, and began moving toward the plane. As we neared, you could hear the troop commander call the command of "present arms" from the other end of the formation, and the salutes went up in unison. We passed slowly through the lines of troops and up onto the ramp. The crew was standing in a semi-circle at the front of the plane at rigid attention, and the first casket was already in place in front of them. We made our way to the front, turned around, and set the casket down next to the first. There was an awkward, solemn moment as we all looked at each other silently, knowing we had done all we could do, but all, I think, wishing we could have done more. We filed down the ramp and fell into the formation, paying our respects as the other four fallen heroes passed by.
After the last hero had passed, the chaplain followed the procession onto the plane, then after a minute, came back out. The ramp closed, and the troop commander, chaplain, and color guard filed through the formation. The formation moved quietly back off the airfield, and that was the end of the ceremony. We all stayed out on the ramp as we waited for the plane to taxi. As we stood there, we talked quietly. Up to that point, the names had not been released. I knew they were from Moody AFB, which is where we are stationed, and many of the rescue troops know many of my troops. One of my troops said that he had known one of the fallen airmen--in fact, they had hung out at his house prior to our deployment. I did not know before that moment that Jason Plite was one of the deceased. I knew him from a school we had been to together, and when he arrived at Moody I remember running into him in the gym, then in Valdosta a couple times. The thought of him in one of those caskets hit me very hard, and the only consolation anyone can have, I suppose, is the fact that I was able to be part of that ceremony, and that I was able to be a small part of his life.
The troops on the ramp saluted as the plane took off, and we all watched with tears in our eyes as it circled around to the north, then flew back over Bagram one last time on the way home. There are no words that can describe the feeling of placing our own friends, brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers on that plane. It was an honor for all of us there to play a small part that day in paying our last respects to those men and women that gave their lives "that others may live." As stated below, they were on their way to pick up two Afghani mine strike victims.
Please keep a place in your heart for all the courageous men and women that are here, and in Iraq, that are ready to give their lives for the benefit of others. We will never forget. And I echo that sentiment wholeheartedly - may this all be over soon.
You hear many speeches about fighting for freedom, liberty, etc. But in the end, these heroes died not fighting for anything - they were on the way to medical evacuate (medevac) two injured Afghani children. Coverage of their tragedy is overshadowed by the war in Iraq, but "Greater love hath no man than this - To lay down his life for a friend."
I ask you all to keep a special thought and prayer for a group of six individuals who lived by the creed of "So others may live..."
God Bless, and may this all be over soon.
Kevin
Published 3/25/2003
Local soldier dies in Afghanistan
21-year-old from Delta Twp. killed in helicopter crash
By Christine MacDonald
Lansing State Journal
Killed in action: Jason Plite of Delta Township, a senior airman in the U.S. Air Force, died Sunday when the helicopter he was in crashed in Afghanistan. All six crew members were killed in the crash.
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| Killed in duty
Name: Jason Plite
Age: 21
Hometown: Delta Township
Job: Senior Airman, U.S. Air Force
Unit: 41st Rescue Squadron, Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Ga.
Background: 1999 graduate of Grand Ledge High School
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Friends say a 21-year-old Delta Township man had a "servant's heart" and was doing what he loved when he died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.
Jason Plite, a senior airman in the Air Force, was aboard an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter on its way to rescue two injured Afghan children when it went down late Sunday, killing all six crew members.
"He was there to pick up the people who are broken," said Plite's neighbor, Michael O'Berski. "He paid the ultimate price for it."
The crew was within a couple weeks of completing its tour of duty and returning to Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Ga. Officials said the crash was not believed to be the result of enemy action.
Friends say Plite, a 1999 Grand Ledge High graduate, excelled at his grueling training - similar to the Navy SEALs' - but was just as tickled when he helped deliver a baby for the first time.
And he relished his role as big brother to 10- and 12-year-old sisters, attending their plays and other functions.
"He had a soft heart and was tough outside," said his best friend, 22-year-old Dan O'Berski. "You wouldn't have even known he was in a special, elite group."
The O'Berskis met Plite about seven years ago when his family moved into their neighborhood near Mt. Hope Highway and Canal Road. Plite often snuck over for ice cream.
"He had the key to our hearts and the key to our house," said Michael O'Berski, Dan's dad.
Plite stayed in steady contact with his family and his girlfriend through e-mails and phone calls from Afghanistan. Last week he e-mailed another good friend, Andy George, that he was bored.
"I said, 'Good, stay that way,' " said George, 22. "I know he wouldn't have changed a thing. That is really what he wanted to do."
Plite was a successful swimmer and a talented artist in high school. He painted a mural for the previous owners of the Perk Up coffeehouse in Grand Ledge. It featured five jazz musicians.
Current owner Samantha Parks had hung a quilt over the painting because it didn't fit her redecoration. But she removed it Monday, attaching a note asking people to pray for Plite's family.
"Everyone is just pretty shocked," Parks said.
Friends are focusing on Plite's accomplishments and plan to set up a memorial fund in his honor. They want to establish anything from a plaque in his name to a college art scholarship.
"At 21 he made a difference that our children will be grateful for," Michael O'Berski said.
The Pentagon identified the others who died as 1st Lt. Tamara Archuleta, 23, of Los Lunas, N.M.; Staff Sgt. Jason Hicks, 25, of Jefferson, S.C.; Master Sgt. Michael Maltz, 42, of St. Petersburg, Fla.; Lt. Col. John Stein, 39, of Bardolph, Ill.; and Staff Sgt. John Teal, 29, of Dallas, Texas.
Jason Plite Funeral
WILX - Lansing, MI by Lori Jane Gliha
Nearly 1,000 family and friends paid their respects during a funeral for senior airman Jason Plite.
The Grand Ledge man was killed when his rescue helicopter crashed in Afghanistan on March 23. Plite was on a mission to save a couple Afghan children when he died.
People who knew Plite say he lived by the Air Force pararescuer motto, "That others may live."
Family members are asking people to donate money to a memorial fund rather than sending flowers. A fund is set up with:
Flagstar Bank
914 Charlevoix Suite 100
Grand Ledge, MI 48837
They say the memorial fund will help carry on Plite's love for the arts and swimming
The following email was received on April 4, 2003 from retired Pararescueman Herb Kee regarding the funeral of Jason Plite Jason's funeral was held on April 3rd at South Baptist Church, 5250 Cornerstone Drive. Instead of flowers, Plite's family requested that donations to the Jason Plite Memorial Fund be sent to Flagstar Bank, 914 Charlevoix Dr. Suite 100, Grand Ledge, MI 48837.
Deb and I were able to go to Lansing and attend the funeral. Approximately 600 people attended the service which lasted for two hours. The service was very moving and inspirational. Five active duty and two retired PJ's were present. Also present were several members of the armed services, The Lansing Fire Department, Lansing Police Department, Michigan State Troopers, and members of the Sheriffs Department. The active duty PJ's were:
1st Lt. Rob Taylor
MSgt Dan Horton
SSgt Chis Trisko
SRA Sean Cunningham
SRA Luke Naughton
Retired PJ's:
MSgt Herb Kee
MSgt Craig Newman
The procession to the grave site was nearly two miles long. The Honor Guard was from Wright-Patterson AFB and performed their duties with all honor and dignity. The family was very appreciative of the PJ's attendance and support. "That Others May Live."
Arlington exhibit closes with ceremony honoring the fallen
Posted 6/12/2007 Updated 6/13/2007
by Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
6/12/2007 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Arlington National Cemetery's "Faces of the Fallen" exhibit closed June 7, and in a ceremony to honor the fallen, artwork featuring servicemembers who have lost their lives were presented to their surviving family members.
While the exhibit comprised 1,319 fallen servicemembers, the closing ceremony featured a handful of portraits standing for each service.
Representing the Air Force was Senior Airman Jason Plite, a pararescueman who lost his life in 2003. Airman Plite's mother, Dawn Peterson, accepted her son's portrait from the artist, Robert Henry.
"This was wonderful for them to do and I'm honored to have been here for this," Ms. Peterson said.
In addition, fellow pararescuemen attended the ceremony to lend support for their fallen comrade, including the career field manager, Chief Master Sgt. Ryan Beckmann.
"We felt it was important for us to be here," the chief said. "Once you join the PJs, you join a family. That doesn't just go for our Airmen, but their families as well and we're glad we could attend and show our respect."
The exhibit, which opened in March 2005, was viewed by more than 650,000 visitors.
Maj. Kevin G. Nave
Hometown: Union Lake, Michigan, U.S.
Age: 36 years old
Died: March 26, 2003 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Unit: Marines, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Incident: Run over by a military vehicle while asleep on the ground after leading 1,000 Marines through enemy territory toward Baghdad.
Marine Maj. Kevin Nave
Died March 26, 2003 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom
36, of Union Lake, Mich.; assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed in a vehicle accident in Iraq.
Marine Maj. Kevin G. Nave graduated in 1985 from Waterford Kettering High School, where he was on the varsity football and wrestling teams. After high school, he went to the University of Michigan on a Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship. He graduated in 1989 with a degree in political science.
Nave had a wife, Carrie, a son, Anthony, 6, and a 5-year-old daughter, Maeve.
His daughter, Maeve, turned 5 on March 27, the same day his family received word of his death. He and his wife, Carrie, also have a son, Anthony, 6. He appeared on NBC News on March 19, just an hour before President Bush's deadline to Saddam Hussein, and declared himself ready for war: "We will use all of our skill and the tools of our trade to take the fight to the enemy."
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