Three Beach-based sailors killed in Afghan helicopter crash

VIRGINIA BEACH

Three local sailors were among nine U.S. service members killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan, one of the deadliest incidents for coalition forces there in four years, military authorities said Wednesday.

Senior Chief Petty Officer David Blake McLendon, 30, served as a cryptologic technician. Petty Officer 2nd Class Adam Olin Smith, 26, and Petty Officer 3rd Class Denis Miranda, 24, were both SEALs. The men were assigned to a SEAL team at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek.

"On behalf of the entire Naval Special Warfare community, we extend our sincerest condolences to all the families of our fallen brothers, our Navy SEALs and support tech, Army air crewmen and coalition personnel," Rear Adm. Edward Winters, commander, Naval Special Warfare Command, said in a statement. "Our prayers are with these families during this very difficult time."

A fourth special warfare member - Lt. Brendan Looney, 29, a former all-American lacrosse player at the Naval Academy assigned to a SEAL team in San Diego - also died in the crash Tuesday.

All perished when the Army Blackhawk helicopter they were traveling on in support of a special operations mission went down in the southern Afghanistan province of Zabul.

Five members of the Army's 101st Airborne Division, which manned the Blackhawk, also died in the crash. They were identified late Wednesday as Maj. Robert F. Baldwin, 39, of Muscatine, Iowa, Chief Warrant Officer Matthew G. Wagstaff, 34, of Orem, Utah, Chief Warrant Officer Jonah D. McClellan, 26, of St. Louis Park, Minn., Staff Sgt. Joshua D. Powell, 25, of Pleasant Plains, Ill., and Sgt. Marvin R. Calhoun Jr., 23, of Elkhart, Ind.

An International Security Assistance Force service member, Afghan soldier and an American civilian were in critical condition at a U.S. medical facility in Afghanistan.

The SEALs and their support staff hadn't been in Afghanistan long.

Kelly Lockman of Thomasville, Ga., said Wednesday that her brother, who went by Blake McLendon, had deployed previously to the Middle East but arrived in Afghanistan less than a month ago.

"He was great," Lockman said of her older brother, who loved to fish the waters near the home where they grew up in rural south Georgia. "He was always the funniest person around."

A 1998 graduate of Thomas County Central High School, McLendon entered the Navy after graduation, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.

During his 12-year Navy career, McLendon served in Norfolk, Hawaii and Maine. His fellow service members said they remember him as a consummate Navy professional.

McLendon is survived by his wife, parents and siblings.

Smith entered the Navy in October 2004 and joined a SEAL team the following year. Described by his teammates as a highly decorated combat veteran, he made numerous overseas deployments.

A native of Hurland, Mo., Smith is survived by his mother and father.

Miranda entered the Navy in September 2003 and worked for three years as a maintenance technician before joining the SEALs in 2007. Colleagues described him as a budding star with the promise of a successful career.

Miranda, of Toms River, N.J., is survived by his mother and father.

"These men bravely and unselfishly answered the nation's call to defend freedom and protect the nation and its allies from terrorism," Rear Adm. Winters said. "The loss of these brave warriors will only strengthen our resolve in the fight against extremism and terror."

Details of the crash have not yet been released, but it bears a haunting resemblance to another helicopter crash in Afghanistan five years ago.

An Army helicopter carrying more than a dozen special warfare personnel was shot down by insurgents during an attempt to rescue a SEAL squad trapped in an ambush during a reconnaissance mission.

Eight Army special forces soldiers and eight Navy SEALs died in the crash. Three other SEALs died after battling more than 150 insurgents on the ground; one made it out alive.

Six of the fallen SEALs were assigned to Seal Team 10 at Little Creek.

That day - June 28, 2005 - marked the greatest single loss of life in the SEALs' nearly 50-year history, as well as the deadliest crash of the Afghan war. It also served as a point of pride, though: Lt. Michael Murphy, leader of the squad pinned down in the Hindu Kush mountains, posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions that day.

He was the first sailor since the Vietnam War to win the nation's highest military decoration.

Deaths hit the tight-knit, tight-lipped special warfare community especially hard when they occur in multiples. There are about 2,500 SEALs in the Navy, split between commands in Hampton Roads and San Diego.

A military memorial service will be held next week at Little Creek, said Lt. Arlo Abrahamson, a spokesman for Navy Special Warfare Group Two. At the families' request, the service will be private.

Staff writer Lauren King contributed to this story.

Kate Wiltrout, (757) 446-2629, kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com