SSgt David E. Galloway
| SSGT. DAVID E. GALLOWAY, 1ST FORCE RECON - OREGON CITY, OR, was also a Sniper
with 3 confirmed kills to his credit from the top of the American embassy in Somalia. MEMORIAL SERVICES Memorial services were conducted at 1300, 20 December 1999 at the Base Theater, Mainside, Camp Pendleton, CA. CMC and CG, MARFORPAC and SecNav were in attendance. The Memorial Services were held for those listed below: SSGT. VINCENT A. SABASTEANSKI, 1ST FORCE RECON - CUMBERLAND,
ME SSGT. WILLIAM C. DAME, EOD, MSSG-15 - YUMA, AZ All were reported missing and now presumed dead after their CH-46 helicopter got
tangled with the netting on the USNS Pecos and the pilot lost control and was pitched
upside down into the pacific ocean off Point Loma, CA. All Force
Recon personnel were from the 5th Platoon. They were standing up and preparing to
"Fast
Rope" on to the deck of the USNS Pecos as part of a training exercise in preparation
for
deployment with the 15th MEU(SOC) next month. This was a Joint Operation with the
SEALS, who were in the water aboard their boats preparing to assault from the sea. As the
"bird" quickly sank (5 seconds), eleven (11) survivors "popped up" to
the surface and were The Eleven (11) survivors were: CAPT. JAMES I. LUKEHART, JR, HMM-166, CLARK, OH SCHOLARSHIP TRUST FUND The FRA has established a SCHOLARSHIP TRUST FOR THE SURVIVING
CHILDREN of those
tragically lost. The children are Frederick GALLOWAY, Age 7, Stetson GALLOWAY,
Age 5 and William GALLOWAY, Age 4, all sons of SSgt. David E. GALLOWAY;
Nicholas SABASTEANSKI, Age 18 Months, son of SSgt. Vincent A. Those desiring to make a donation to this Special Scholarship Trust may make their check or money order payable to "FRA SCHOLARSHIP TRUST FUND" and add a memo indicating if you want it donated to an individual "By Name" child or to be "Evenly Split" amongst all 5 children. No specific designation of donation will be evenly divided amongst all 5 children. Mail your donation(s) to: FORCE RECON ASSOCIATION |
___________________________________
This is the incident as we now know it. Please understand that this is
subject to change, but is accurate as of now. The platoon was doing a VBSS on a USN ship (i believe Pecos) Two helos,
-1 and-2 , with the platoon split. They were going to land (if room), or
fast rope if not. The SEAL platoon was assaulting from surface/up. The
SBU RIB's were on other side of ship.
The pilot of -1 struck, or otherwise fouled something on the ship (It
is
on video.) The A/C became unstable and rolled into the ocean. The A/C
sank immediately. -2 waved off. The two pilots egressed successfully. One crewman escaped, one did
not.
Only one member of the Force Platoon forward of the hell hole got out. All the Force Marines (and the 1 EOD Marine) were jocked up. Sgt Ward
also had a cutting torch. When the A/C impacted he was directly behind
the cockpit. (Initially they believed he had broken his back on impact-
they now believe that it was a 2-3 year old parachute injury). He
attempted to get out via the gunners station- his M4 sling caught on the
.50, and he came back in. He located some air in the bottom of the A/C
(which was now inverted), got a breath, removed some equipment, and swam
out the clamshell. The Marine closest to the hell hole escaped through it- upwards, as the
A/C was inverted.
By the time they egressed, several reported that they were at 20' or more
below the surface. This means that they were negatively bouyant, and swam
out of the A/C and up to the surface with all of their equipment- Type 4
heavy body armor, helmet, MEU(SOC) Pistol, M4A1 Carbine, ammo, demo,
radios, breaching equipment etc. Except for Sgt. Ward, I don't believe
anyone consciously ditched anything, nor were aware of that fact until
they reached the surface. One Marine was trapped when his MEU(SOC) .45
caught on something in the helo. It was attached by a lanyard
(recommended by me last year) to replace the non functional issue
lanyard. He pulled and the breakable link broke, permitting him to
escape.
Those who got out said that they could not follow the bubbles, as it was
completely dark. One likened it to a school of minnows in a compressed
space. Several stated that they got out the clamshell, some have no idea.
Several stated that they could see the light at the surface and swam
towards it, but most were out of air.
The SBU heard the crash, responded immediately, and retrieved all of
the
Marines that had escaped. The 5th Platoon Commander, Capt. Kapitulik, sustained a broken leg. The
Platoon Commander of the next deploying platoon, 1stLt (Mustang) Mike
Butler along as an observer, has a severely lacerated liver. He is in
critical condition. None of the others sustained other than minor injuries. Those that are officially missing are Ssgt Vincent Sabaetenski- married
with a 2 yr old son; the platoon Corpsman, Doc Asis, married, no
children, Cpl Baca, married with a 6 month old, Ssgt. Gallaway, married
with 3 children, and Sgt. Starling. He died on the day of the promotion
board met. CG had him promoted to Ssgt. One helo crewman and one EOD
Marine from FSSG. I didn't know them. The CO stated that in every house, the presence of the Force Members
was
strong. Memorabilia, awards, manuals, books pertaining to Force. Doc Asis
wife said that he truly loved the Company and those in it, and truly
loved the mission. She is as motivated as her husband was, and gave a
stirring talk to the medis sharks. The wives all stated that they
understood what it was that their men did, and how much the Company was
like a family. They said that they would not have changed a thing.
The girlfriend of SSgt Starling lives in Las Vegas. The Company
requested that the I&I make a notification to her, and requested that the
Air Force provide a Chaplain. They apparently refused. Jointness possibly
exists only in the minds of some.
The seven men are probably still trapped in the A/C, which lies in
3500'
of cold Pacific Ocean, 15 miles off of the CA coast. A Memorial Service will be held on 20 Dec. The CMC will attend.
A Scholarship fund is being set up for the children- info to follow.
An "expert" being interviewed on the news last night stated
that it
would be impossible for anyone to escape from a helo under those
circumstances. The fact that these guys were as hard as they were in no
small way contributed to their survival. When the CO visited the plt aboard ship, they all requested that they
continue their deployment with the MEU(SOC). None wanted out, and they
have sufficient volunteers to backfill the lost team.
__________________________________________________
On 09 December 1999, a USMC Force Reconnaissance platoon was assigned to perform a VBSS on the USNS Pecos as part of a training exercise in preparation for deployment with the 15th MEU(SOC) in January 2000. The assault team was comprised, in part, of two CH-46 helicopters assigned to the Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 166. These were designated numbers 1 and 2 , with the platoon split between both birds. They were going to land if there was room, or fast rope if not. A SEAL platoon was assigned to assault simultaneously from surface/up. US Navy Special Boat Unit rigid hull inflatables (RIB) and their crews were on other side of ship, carrying the SEALs who were to perform the assault. The pilot of helo #1 struck, or became fouled in the netting surrounding the stern of the ship. The A/C immediately became unstable and rolled into the ocean. The A/C sank and #2 waved off. The Force Recon personnel were standing up and preparing to "Fast Rope" on to the deck at the time of the accident. Eleven survivors were immediately pulled from the water, however six Marines and one sailor died in the crash. The helicopter went down about 1:16 p.m. PST (2116 GMT) about 15 miles (24 kms) west-southwest of Point Loma. All Force Recon personnel were from the 5th Platoon and part of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit based at Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego.
SCHOLARSHIP TRUST FUND
The FRA has established a SCHOLARSHIP TRUST FOR THE SURVIVING CHILDREN of those tragically lost. The children are:
Frederick GALLOWAY, Age 7, Stetson GALLOWAY, Age 5 and William GALLOWAY, Age 4, all sons of SSgt. David E. GALLOWAY;
Nicholas SABASTEANSKI, Age 18 Months, son of SSgt. Vincent A. SABASTEANSKI;
Derek BACA, son of Cpl. Mark A. Baca.
HM1 Asis and SSgt Starling had no known children at this time.
Those desiring to make a donation to this Special Scholarship Trust may make their check
or money order payable to "FRA SCHOLARSHIP TRUST FUND" and add a memo indicating
if you want it donated to an individual "By Name" child or to be "Evenly
Split" amongst all 5 children. No specific designation of donation will be evenly
divided amongst all 5 children. Mail your donation(s) to:
Or, you can contact:
Gary "Buddha" Marte
Major, USMC, Retired
Executive Director, Force Recon Association
Office (760) 439 - 8633
Home (760) 439 - 6888
FAX (760) 725 - 3221
EMail: GMarte@aol.com