Suzie
03-02-2002, 11:51 AM
Virginia National Guard Honors Red Horse Unit Members Killed in Crash With Stirring Memorial
By Sonja Barisic
Associated Press Writer
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - It's still hard for Master Sgt. Jay Brown to step into the office across from his own at Camp Pendleton.
It used to belong to Master Sgt. Eric G. Bulman, 59, one of 18 Virginia Air National Guardsmen who died March 3, 2001, when their plane went down in a muddy Georgia field.
"I could look out the door and look right at him," Brown said.
The year anniversary of the crash will be marked Sunday with a memorial for the singular men of the 203rd Red Horse Flight, as well as the three Florida Army National Guardsmen piloting the downed plane who also perished.
The memorial, featuring a statue of a red horse kneeling in front of a granite rock bearings the names of the dead, was built almost entirely by members of the Red Horse unit in Virginia and other Red Horse civil engineering units around the nation. Red Horse stands for Rapid Engineering Deployable Heavy Operation Readiness Special Equipment.
Red Horse members are traditional Guardsmen, giving up a weekend a month and two weeks a year - and often more - to prepare for their mission of construction work on short notice anywhere in the world.
"It was an honor just knowing them and being around them," said Brown, the 203rd's support services supervisor and an active-duty reservist who has been with the unit since it started in 1985. "Every one of them volunteered to go on that job. Nobody had to force them to go. They loved the Guard."
The crash claimed the lives of a tenth of the 203rd Red Horse Flight's 198 members. It was the worst loss off life for the Virginia National Guard since 21 men died in the D-Day invasion.
For the unit's survivors, Brown said, "You can still see the hurt in their eyes." And though the unit is recruiting to try to refill its ranks, it may take years.
"You can't just replace people who have been here 10, 15 years," said Master Sgt. Louis Da Foe, who lost most of the men in his mechanical shop. "We lost a lot of leadership, too."
Military investigators initially blamed the crash on the crew for improper loading, but the general who ordered the probe later blamed bad weather and equipment malfunctions.
The families of 11 of the Guardsmen killed have sued the plane's manufacturer and other companies, saying the equipment was at fault.
"It's certainly not about the money - it's about making sure that this never happens again to anybody else," said Kathryn Skurupey of Gloucester, widow of Staff Sgt. Gregory Skurupey. "That plane needs to be grounded and taken care of."
Brown said concentrating on assisting family members and building the memorial have helped him and other Guardsmen cope with the tragedy.
"I hold things in and sometimes I just have to go off by myself," Brown said. "I think about it every drill, every drill weekend."
The memorial, which covers 30,000 square feet, incorporates elements from designs submitted by several members of the 203rd.
It begins at a statue of a red horse nicknamed Bubba that already stood at Camp Pendleton. A walking path meanders through 21 Bradford pear trees, one for each Guard member who died. A 22nd tree was added for the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which took place four days before ground was broken for the memorial.
Inside the path is a waterfall, and a bronze Minuteman stands in the waterfall's pool. Above is a sign reading: "On guard eternally." A smaller red horse - Bubba Jr. - kneels before a granite rock bearing the names of the crash victims. On a hill beyond that is a bulldozer.
Brown estimated the memorial cost $160,000. The Air Force gave about three-quarters of that, and the 203rd also raised money by holding a golf tournament and selling coins and dog tags with the names of the dead.
Master Sgt. Christine Fischer, who had worked with some of the men who were killed, said she thought Sunday's dedication will help Guardsmen and family members in the grieving process.
"It's going to be good as far as closure," Fischer said. "It's going to be hard, though, reliving it."
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SOURCE (http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA2F4CPBYC.html)
By Sonja Barisic
Associated Press Writer
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - It's still hard for Master Sgt. Jay Brown to step into the office across from his own at Camp Pendleton.
It used to belong to Master Sgt. Eric G. Bulman, 59, one of 18 Virginia Air National Guardsmen who died March 3, 2001, when their plane went down in a muddy Georgia field.
"I could look out the door and look right at him," Brown said.
The year anniversary of the crash will be marked Sunday with a memorial for the singular men of the 203rd Red Horse Flight, as well as the three Florida Army National Guardsmen piloting the downed plane who also perished.
The memorial, featuring a statue of a red horse kneeling in front of a granite rock bearings the names of the dead, was built almost entirely by members of the Red Horse unit in Virginia and other Red Horse civil engineering units around the nation. Red Horse stands for Rapid Engineering Deployable Heavy Operation Readiness Special Equipment.
Red Horse members are traditional Guardsmen, giving up a weekend a month and two weeks a year - and often more - to prepare for their mission of construction work on short notice anywhere in the world.
"It was an honor just knowing them and being around them," said Brown, the 203rd's support services supervisor and an active-duty reservist who has been with the unit since it started in 1985. "Every one of them volunteered to go on that job. Nobody had to force them to go. They loved the Guard."
The crash claimed the lives of a tenth of the 203rd Red Horse Flight's 198 members. It was the worst loss off life for the Virginia National Guard since 21 men died in the D-Day invasion.
For the unit's survivors, Brown said, "You can still see the hurt in their eyes." And though the unit is recruiting to try to refill its ranks, it may take years.
"You can't just replace people who have been here 10, 15 years," said Master Sgt. Louis Da Foe, who lost most of the men in his mechanical shop. "We lost a lot of leadership, too."
Military investigators initially blamed the crash on the crew for improper loading, but the general who ordered the probe later blamed bad weather and equipment malfunctions.
The families of 11 of the Guardsmen killed have sued the plane's manufacturer and other companies, saying the equipment was at fault.
"It's certainly not about the money - it's about making sure that this never happens again to anybody else," said Kathryn Skurupey of Gloucester, widow of Staff Sgt. Gregory Skurupey. "That plane needs to be grounded and taken care of."
Brown said concentrating on assisting family members and building the memorial have helped him and other Guardsmen cope with the tragedy.
"I hold things in and sometimes I just have to go off by myself," Brown said. "I think about it every drill, every drill weekend."
The memorial, which covers 30,000 square feet, incorporates elements from designs submitted by several members of the 203rd.
It begins at a statue of a red horse nicknamed Bubba that already stood at Camp Pendleton. A walking path meanders through 21 Bradford pear trees, one for each Guard member who died. A 22nd tree was added for the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which took place four days before ground was broken for the memorial.
Inside the path is a waterfall, and a bronze Minuteman stands in the waterfall's pool. Above is a sign reading: "On guard eternally." A smaller red horse - Bubba Jr. - kneels before a granite rock bearing the names of the crash victims. On a hill beyond that is a bulldozer.
Brown estimated the memorial cost $160,000. The Air Force gave about three-quarters of that, and the 203rd also raised money by holding a golf tournament and selling coins and dog tags with the names of the dead.
Master Sgt. Christine Fischer, who had worked with some of the men who were killed, said she thought Sunday's dedication will help Guardsmen and family members in the grieving process.
"It's going to be good as far as closure," Fischer said. "It's going to be hard, though, reliving it."
---
SOURCE (http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA2F4CPBYC.html)