That helicopter crash yesterday in Iraq was transporting members of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Regiment, USMC. 27 of the 31 dead were from Kaneohe MCAS, on the windward side of Oahu.
Kaneohe is a pretty small community. Most people who live there are either connected to the base or work “over the hill” in Honolulu. I rarely get to that side of the island, but I can well imagine the shock the town is feeling today.
Hi Linky,
I remember a similar post of yours mentioning how many soldiers from Hawaii are in Iraq…
My thoughts are with them and their families…
Breaks my heart.
Most everyone I know had/has nothing to do with the mc base. Other than being in the flight path of the jets, that is. The base is pertty well divorced from the rest of Kaneohe (I think most from the base live in Kailua) and the locals and military don’t mix much. Of course, that doesn’t make the news any less tragic. 🙁
Excuse my pertty lapse. And I meant to qualify that I don’t know if locals and military mix more now than they did then, but I don’t really see it when I go home.
I did qualify by saying “or over the hill.” And if you’d seen the clips of people who run the coffee shops and hair salons on the local tv stations you’d think the whole community was dependent on the base.