James Blackmon, FA-18 crash, February 17, 2002
Thomas Brandon McCombie, S-3 crash, September 10, 2002
John Berger, FA-18 crash, July 22, 2003
Frank Hooks, FA-18 crash, June 27, 2004
Derek Nichols, FA-18 crash, June 28, 2004
Frank Wittwer, FA-18 crash, Jan 18, 2006
Todd Siebert, sniper fire, February 16, 2007

All great men, and all sorely missed. They will not be forgotten.

There were many more I known personally throughout my career, but these guys were all considered friends.

I used the term "crash" liberally, some were CFIT, some mechanical, one was an oil slick with no known cause. Ironically, these guys are almost to a man among the best pilots I know of, top of their class, good sticks. Better to be lucky than good. The senior Marine who was at Meridian still says John Berger was hands down the most gifted pilot he saw in his 3 years there.