February 06, 2004
Somber memorial for soldiers killed in Iraq helicopter crash
By Jon Sarche
Associated Press
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Four of the nine soldiers killed when their helicopter went down in Iraq last month were memorialized Thursday as modest heroes dedicated to saving lives, American and Iraqi.
“They asked for nothing and in a moment gave everything,” Maj. William LaChance, commander of the 571st Medical Company based at Fort Carson, said in a letter read at a service attended by nearly 700 people.
The Jan. 8 crash near Fallujah killed five other U.S. soldiers. Sgt. Michael A. DiRaimondo, 22, of Simi Valley was among the victims.
Many soldiers, including LaChance, say they believed the helicopter was shot down, despite being marked with a distinctive red cross. The Army has not determined the cause of the crash, a Fort Carson spokesman said.
Among the dead were four men from Fort Carson, which has lost 40 soldiers and two reservists in Iraq since the war began. The dead were fondly recalled not only as expert pilots and medics, but as loving husbands, boyfriends and fathers.
Chief Warrant Officer Philip A. Johnson Jr., 31, of Mobile, Ala., was the pilot in charge that day. He was accompanied by pilot Chief Warrant Officer Ian D. Manuel, 23, of Jacksonville, Fla., and two medics: DiRaimondo and Sgt. Christopher A. Golby, 26, of Johnstown, Pa.
Ronald Golby said his son loved to fly, and that he and his wife Dawn supported their son’s choice to enter the Army to help pay for an education.
“We expected he was fairly safe from rockets because of the red cross,” said Golby, wearing a pin for the 571st. “It’s unheard of for somebody to fire on a red cross vehicle.”
In front of the crowd stood a wooden podium marked with symbols of grief — photographs of the men, four pairs of empty boots, guns topped with helmets and dog tags hanging from trigger guards.
In the middle of the ceremony, the hangar doors opened, letting in a cold, gusty wind and a clear view of a Black Hawk helicopter parked on the tarmac.
“Witch Doctor one-three, this is dustoff operations,” called a voice over the public address system:
“Witch Doctor one-three, we are operational,” came the answer.
Twice more went the exchange for other helicopters. Then came the call for Witch Doctor 11.
“Witch Doctor one-one, this is dustoff operations.”
There was no response. The hangar was silent. The call was made more than a half-dozen times, met by silence each time.
After the last try, four medevac Black Hawks flew by the hangar and one peeled off, leaving the others in a missing man formation. There wasn’t a sound from the crowd.
Anthony DiRaimondo, the father of Michael DiRaimondo, wrote in a Jan. 30 letter to President Bush that he and his son support the war in Iraq and believed the United States was obligated to stop Saddam Hussein.
But he expressed frustration with rules prohibiting U.S. troops from returning fire unless they have a distinct target.
Insurgents know about the rule, and it is costing soldiers’ lives, DiRaimondo wrote. He asked Bush to allow soldiers to fire back in self-defense.
“Don’t let another American family go through the grief that we (and 515-plus other families) have gone through,” DiRaimondo wrote in the letter, published Thursday in the Ventura County Star. “Win the war or get out of the war.”
Anthony DiRaimondo has said his son joined the Army to train as a medic and planned to work as a paramedic when he left the military. In the hours after the crash, he said his son “was at the peak of his life.”
Golby, who joined the Army after his 1995 high school graduation, was a helicopter crew chief who planned to become a pilot when he left the military, his father said. He left a wife, Sonya, and two boys, Dylan, 9, and Sean, 5.
The others killed in the crash were Sgt. 1st Class Gregory B. Hicks, 35, of Duff, Tenn.; Spc. Nathaniel H. Johnson, 22, of Augusta, Ga.; Staff Sgt. Craig Davis, 37, of Opelousas, La.; and Army Chief Warrant Officer Aaron Weaver, 32, of Inverness, Fla. All were based outside Colorado.
Fort Carson has sent some 12,000 troops to Iraq, its largest deployment since World War II. Its casualty count is the heaviest since Vietnam.
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Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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------------------------------------------------------------ Out of every 100 men, ten shouldn't even be there, Eighty are just targets, Nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back." - Hericletus, circa 500 BC
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