Marines Killed in Yuma Helo Crash Identified

Marines ID'd

The military released the names of seven U.S. Marines, six based at Camp Pendleton, who died when two helicopters collided during a nighttime training exercise on the outskirts of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma.

Killed in the crash at the California-Arizona border on Wednesday evening were Capt. Nathan W. Anderson, 32, of Amarillo, Texas; Maj. Thomas A. Budrejko, 37, of Montville, Conn.; Capt. Benjamin N. Cerniglia, 31, of Montgomery, Ala.; Lance Cpl. Nickoulas H. Elliott, 21, of Spokane, Wash.; Sgt. Justin A. Everett, 33, of Clovis; Lance Cpl. Corey A. Little, 25, of Marietta, Ga.; and Capt. Michael M. Quin, 28, of Purcellville, Va.

Anderson was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. The others were based in northern San Diego County, according to USMC officials.

Ships to Return

The John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group is expected to return to San Diego next week following a seven-month deployment to the western Pacific and Middle East, the Navy announced Friday.

The Carrier strike group includes the Nimitz-class carrier USS John C. Stennis, which is homeported in Bremerton, Wash., the San Diego-based guided- missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay, guided-missile destroyers USS Pinckney, USS Kidd, USS Dewey and USS Wayne E. Meyer, Destroyer Squadron 21 and Carrier Air Wing 9.

While deployed, the ships played a pivotal role in the draw-down of U.S. forces in Iraq, officials said.

On Dec. 18, an E-2C "Hawkeye" aircraft which was part of Carrier Air Wing 9 flew the last Navy aviation mission over Iraq.

"Flying the last Navy air mission in Iraq was a historic achievement for all of us," said Capt. Dale Horan, former commander of Carrier Air Wing 9. "Everyone in this strike group played a major part in making that happen and it's a part of history we will always share."

In January, while supporting operations in Afghanistan, John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group forces thwarted an attempted pirate attack on a Bahamian- flagged cargo vessel and freed a group of Iranian mariners from the suspected pirates, Navy officials said.

"Our goal was safety and security, protecting the lives of those fishermen," said Cmdr. Jennifer L. Ellinger, commanding officer of the USS Kidd. "We were just happy to save lives and help people."

The strike group also conducted several exercises with partner countries in the western Pacific and made stops in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Kissing Statue Stays

The iconic statue of a Navy sailor kissing a nurse, which was scheduled to be taken down at the end of the month, will remain on the waterfront at Tuna Harbor through mid-May, the Port of San Diego announced Friday.

"Unconditional Surrender," by J. Seward Johnson, depicts a famed 1945 Life magazine photograph taken in Times Square in New York when the end of World War II was announced.

It was first loaned to the port in 2007 for a term of one year, port officials said. The loan had been extended a number of times and was set to expire at the end of the month.

Supporters of the sculpture attended the Feb. 14 meeting of the Board of Port Commissioners to urge another extension for the loaned sculpture, officials said.

Port of San Diego staff and the the Santa Monica-based nonprofit Sculpture Foundation, which owns the 6,000 pound sculpture, have agreed to extend the loan through mid-May, officials said.

Prior to its local installation, the sculpture was displayed in New York as part of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, and then displayed in Sarasota, Fla., through the summer of 2006.

-City News Service