Fallen Navy SEALs, sailor came from many walks of life

From Pilot and wire reports

They lived here, but they came from all over the country. One spent his weekends camping in the woods of New England. Another grew up in Arkansas, just beyond the hardwoods of Ozark National Forest. A third grew up surfing Hawaii’s monster waves.

The Department of Defense has not yet released the names of the 30 American servicemen who died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan on Saturday. Twenty-two of them are thought to be SEALs, many from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group at Dam Neck Annex in Virginia Beach – also known as SEAL Team Six.

Four Navy men who perished were identified Monday by grieving families, with relatives, old friends and coaches offering glimpses into their lives.

Tommy Ratzlaff

Jeff Adams said his uncle, Tommy Ratzlaff, didn’t talk much about being a SEAL. But Adams heard enough stories over the years to know one thing for sure.

“He was damn good at it,” Adams said. “For the family, he was our hero.”

Ratzlaff, 34, was based in Virginia Beach. He had two sons, ages 6 and 11. His wife is pregnant with their third child, a daughter due in November.

In a brief phone interview Monday, Adams said the family is still struggling to accept the news of Ratzlaff’s death, which came Saturday morning.

“He’s the kind of person who you just think is invincible,” Adams said.

Ratzlaff grew up in Green Forest, Ark. His family said all he ever wanted was to join the Navy, and he did so as soon as he could, after graduating from high school in 1995. Soon after, he began training to become a SEAL.

“Everybody says the same things about him,” Adams said, “that he was a very determined person, and a very good person.”

Brian Bill

Patrick Sasser first met Brian Bill when they were about 13 years old and members of the same Boy Scout troop in Stamford, Conn. They spent weeks every summer camping.

Both attended Trinity Catholic High School, where Bill played soccer and hockey. Sasser remembered his friend spent a lot of time in the gym and kept himself in great shape. He talked even then about wanting to become a Navy SEAL.

But Bill was a doer, not just a talker.

Both worked hard to make Eagle Scout – Bill’s project involved building an outdoor contemplation garden on the campus of a local convent and elementary school, Sasser said.

Bill would throw his heart – and muscles – into whatever he was doing, Sasser said: “He loved a challenge.”

They fell out of touch after graduating in 1997, but Sasser, a firefighter, would run into Bill’s mom occasionally and heard about what his old friend was up to. He knew Bill had attained his high school goal of becoming a SEAL. He had no idea he’d made it to the most demanding of SEAL teams, but it didn’t surprise him.

“Someone asked me today if I was surprised Brian was part of this elite team,” Sasser said. “It’s actually pretty fitting of Brian. He was the type where anything he was doing, no matter what it was, he always gave 110 percent.”

In a statement published by The Stamford Advocate, Bill’s father, Scott Bill, and his mother and stepfather, Pat and Michael Parry, said their son loved life and a challenge and was passionate about being a SEAL:

“He loved and respected his SEAL teammates. He was a consummate professional and demanded perfection of himself. We mourn his life of unfulfilled dreams.”

Brian was an accomplished mountaineer, skier, pilot and triathlete and wanted to return to graduate school and become an astronaut, they said.

Kraig Vickers

When he was a Maui High School football player, no one could match Kraig Vickers’ intensity on the field.

But off the field, “You couldn’t find a nicer guy,” his former coach remembered.

“He played middle linebacker, so he was really smart, the quarterback of the defense; and when he put on his helmet, no one could match his intensity and aggressiveness,” coach Curtis Lee told the Maui News.

His father, Robert Vickers, told the newspaper that his son had been a Navy Bomb Disposal Team member. Before declining to speak further, he said his son would have turned 37 on Thursday.

Based in Virginia Beach, Vickers lived in Hampton Roads with his three children and his wife, who was pregnant, a childhood friend, Michael Labuanan, told the newspaper.

“I gravitated towards Kraig because of his easy-going personality and the drive to become the best person that he could be,” said Labuanan in an email.

John Douangdara

Military officials told Sengchanh Douangdara of her son’s death on Saturday, she told the Sioux City (Iowa) Journal. The newspaper reported Monday that Petty Officer 1st Class John Douangdara, 26, was a lead dog handler for the elite unit.

“I know he loved his job; it was a job he chose,” his mother said. “We are proud Johnny fought for the country that embraced our family and gave us the opportunity to reach for the American dream.”

The family came to the United States from Laos three decades ago.

This story is compiled from reports by Pilot writers Corinne Reilly and Kate Wiltrout and The Associated Press.