Virginia Beach, Va. - There's a saying the time heals all wounds, but for some, 15 years has not been long enough.
March 3, 2016 marked 15 years since 18 Virginia National Guard members and three Florida Army National Guard aviators were killed in a military transport plane crash in Georgia.
On March 3, 2001, 18 Virginia National Guard engineers from the Virginia Beach-based 203rd RED HORSE Squadron and three Florida Army National Guard aviators from Detachment I, Company H, 171st Aviation Battalion were returning to Virginia after completing a two-week military construction project at Hurlbert Field, Florida.
The C-23 Sherpa they were flying in crashed in a cotton field near Unadilla, Georgia.
The C-23 crash was the worst peacetime aviation disaster in the history of the National Guard, and the worst loss of life in the Virginia National Guard since World War II.
The 203rd Squadron held a ceremony on Thursday at Camp Pendleton to honor the fallen members. The memorial took place at the memorial built to honor them.
(Photo by Cotton Puryear, Va. Department of Military Affairs)
The memorial takes the form of a reflection or meditation garden complete with the unit's mascot: a life-size, rearing red horse. The 30,000-square-foot memorial also includes a large bronze Minuteman statue rising up from a clear pool in front of a waterfall, and a second red horse. This horse kneels in front of a memorial made from a 7,000-pound, black granite boulder with the names of the 21 National Guard men etched into its one polished surface.
203rd RED HORSE Airmen lost in the crash:
- Senior Master Sgt. James Beninati of Virginia Beach, Va.
- Tech. Sgt. Paul Blancato of Norfolk, Va.
- Master Sgt. Ernest Blawas of Virginia Beach, Va.
- Tech. Sgt. Andrew H. Bridges of Chesapeake, Va.
- Senior Master Sgt. Eric Bulman of Virginia Beach, Va.
- Tech Sgt. Paul Cramer of Norfolk, Va.
- Master Sgt. Michael East of Parksley, Va.
- Tech Sgt. Ronald Elkin of Norfolk, Va.
- Tech. Sgt. James Ferguson of Newport News, Va.
- Tech. Sgt. Randy Johnson of Emporia, Va.
- Staff Sgt. Mathew Kidd of Hampton, Va.
- Senior Master Sgt. Michael Lane of Moyock, Va.
- Master Sgt. Edwin Richardson of Virginia Beach, Va.
- Master Sgt. Dean Shelby of Virginia Beach, Va.
- Tech. Sgt. John Sincavage of Chesapeake, Va.
- Tech. Sgt. Gregory Skurupey of Gloucester, Va.
- Tech. Sgt Richard Summerell of Franklin, Va.
- Maj. Frederick Watkins of Virginia Beach, Va.
Florida Army Guard Soldiers lost in the crash:
- Chief Warrant OfficerJohnny W. Duce of Orange Park, Fla.
- Chief Warrant Officer 2 Eric P. Larson of Land-O-Lakes, Fla.
- Staff Sgt. Robert F. Ward Jr. of Lakeland, Fla.
Encircling the border of the memorial is a winding path embracing 22 Bradford pear trees, and a plaque at the base of each tree honors each one of the Guardsmen. The 22nd tree bears a plaque honoring those who died during the terrorist acts of Sept. 11, which took place four days before the groundbreaking of the 203d's memorial on Sept. 15, 2001.
The memorial incorporates ideas from several 203rd members and used a range of the construction skills found in RED HORSE units. Members of the 203rd, assisted by RED HORSE units from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Washington, Montana and Texas, built most of the memorial.
