CH-46 Sea Knight troop-transport helicopter brought down by a SA-7 missile

[kellyhound]

02/09/2007
CAMP PENDLETON
At least two Marines from Camp Pendleton were among the seven service members killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq.

Family members and reports from hometown newspapers identified the dead as Sgt. Travis Pfister 27, of Richland, Wash., and Capt. Jennifer J. Harris, 28, of Swampscott, Mass.
Both were killed when the CH-46 Sea Knight troop-transport helicopter they were riding in went down about 20 miles west of Baghdad in Anbar province, an area that has been the scene of many Marine casualties in Iraq.

The identities of the other dead, reportedly three Marines and two sailors, were unavailable from the Pentagon.

Pfister's wife, Sgt. Jessica Pfister, is a Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton. Thursday, she said in a phone interview that her husband sent her an e-mail on the day he died that referred to his scheduled return to Camp Pendleton on March 5, which would have completed his third deployment to Iraq.

"He said he loved me very much, and he couldn't wait to get home," she said.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Three Marine Corps officials said that witnesses in nearby Marine aircraft saw the stricken helicopter in flames but saw no evidence of hostile fire.
The witnesses reported that the pilot appeared to attempt an emergency landing but lost control of the aircraft as it descended, according to Marine officials.
Their account differed from that of an Iraqi air force officer who said an anti-aircraft missile brought down the helicopter.

Pfister, Harris and the downed helicopter were from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, known as the "Purple Foxes."
The squadron is based at Camp Pendleton and attached to Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.

Harris' family was not available for comment.

[mainetc]

MAY THEY REST IN PEACE

[Soar]

So sad.