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Staff Sgt. Derek Owens remembers fallen airmen during a memorial service for 1st Lt. Joel Gentz and Staff Sgt. David Smith Friday, June 18, 2010, at Nellis Air Force Base. Gentz and Smith were two of four airmen killed when an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter crashed in southeastern Afghanistan June 9, 2010.
Published Friday, June 18, 2010 | 12:49 p.m.
Updated Friday, June 18, 2010 | 2 p.m.
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Beyond the Sun
Family and friends of two Nellis Air Force Base airmen killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan gathered in Las Vegas today to remember the fallen airmen.
1st Lt. Joel Gentz and Staff Sgt. David Smith were among four killed and three wounded in the crash June 9 during a deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They were responsible for casualty evacuation during their mission.
The two were among five Nellis airmen in an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter when it crashed in southeastern Afghanistan. Two airmen from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona also were killed. Three Nellis airmen were injured.
The airmen were assigned to the 563rd Rescue Group, a separate unit of the 23rd Wing. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Loved ones gathered at the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron Thunderbirds Hangar to pay tribute. The ceremony began with a slideshow of the two airmen, followed by remarks from commanders and a scripture reading from a chaplain, Capt. David Horton.
Gentz, 25, served as a combat rescue officer in the 58th Rescue Squadron as the weapons and tactics flight commander. He was on his first deployment and had more than 50 hours of combat time.
He led a team of nine men in Kandahar, Afghanistan, flew 84 combat sorties and saved 39 lives. Gentz, a Grass Lake, Mich., native, is survived by his wife Kathryn and his parents, Judith and Steven Gentz.
Smith, 26, was a helicopter flight engineer instructor assigned to the 66th Rescue Squadron. He had seen several deployments in support of missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Smith is a native of Eight Mile, Ala., and is survived by his mother, Mildred Hardee, his brothers, Randy Dunn and Todd Smith, and his sisters, Jamie Watson and Tracy Tapia. He is also survived by his fiancee, Meggan Eckersly.
Memorial donations can be made to That Others May Live Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides education assistance to children who have lost Air Force guardians or parents in a recovery mission. Instructions for donations can be found at thatothersmaylive.org.
Rest In Peace, 1st Lt. Joel Gentz and Staff Sgt. David Smith. You both have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our Country and freedoms. My deepest condolences to your families.
Thank You
What a crime.... so young and so much to live for. RIP
Freedom isn't free!!! I would like to say "THANK YOU" also !!! RIP
Rest In Peace, 1st Lt. Joel Gentz and Staff Sgt. David Smith. You both have paid the ultimate sacrifice . We Americans who believe in truth and honor as you both did, apologize to you and your families for the government taking advantage of and abusing your bravery, idealism, and commitment for the lies from our government resulting in a war in this region which has nothing to do with American freedom and security, but everything to do with protecting the profits of big oil, and the beliefs of the Scull and Bones secret society whose members have run this country for years and years and are owned by the big oil companies and the Military Industrial Complex. Deepest condolences to your families, and May truth and honor someday be restored to America, and the removal of the Republican criminals who run this country who call themselves government.
Longest of any USA War. I thought they were going to get Bin Laden, but end up nation building (I thought Bush was against that?. The government there is more corrupt than that of South Vietnam, with everything from little boys used as sex partners to massive drug production. This will cost over a trillion dollars.
The "Islamics" are going to come over here and stuff everyone in a burka? I'm tired of domino theories advanced by "chicken hawks" like Beck, Hannity and Limbaugh.
If Ronald Reagan did not support the "Mujahedin" including Bin Laden in Afghanistan against the Soviets, this war would have never happened.
What a pity that our fine men are dying over there in Afghanistan! There is no way that we can remake Afghan society into a secular democracy because the Afghan population is religious Moslem, and the doctrines of Islam do not permit a secular democracy. Their Koran teaches them that we, non-Moslems, are subhuman enemies. Their Koran teaches them that they must make war on us. There is no way that we, non-Moslems, can win their hearts and minds no matter how kind and generous we are to them. The only difference between the Moslem Taliban and the rest of the Moslem Afghan population is that the Taliban wants a stricter application of the same sharia law that the rest of the population wants. "Our" Afghanistan is officially called "The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan", and "our" Afghan constitution prohibits any law which contradicts the doctrines of Islam. Why in Heaven's name are we shedding American lives and wealth in order to prop up an Islamic Republic??? Our only interest in Afghanistan is to prevent the place from becoming a staging ground for international Islamic terrorism. We achieved that in 2001, and we can always go back there if necessary. Otherwise, we should get out.
The usual 'libs' are on this site taking their usual cheap shots ...The Reverand Phelps would be proud of you!
Is it possible that we can honor these brave service members without turning it into a paid poitical "we don't believe in the war" announcement. Whether you believe we should be there or not...this is not the forum to bring that up. Please be respectful to the folks that lost their loved ones over there and use some other forum for your pro or anti war sentiments. Thank you.