Remains of Marines, sailor found off Calif.
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — The remains of seven Marines and a sailor lost when their amphibious vehicle sank near San Clemente Island have been recovered and will be transported to Dover AFB in Delaware for preparation for burial, the Marines said late Friday.
The sunken assault amphibious vehicle was also recovered from the seafloor. The vehicle was found Monday in 385 feet of water.
“Our hearts and thoughts of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit are with the families of our recovered Marines and sailor,” Col. Christopher Bronzi, the unit’s commanding officer, said in a statement. “We hope the successful recovery of our fallen warriors brings some measure of comfort.”
Nine service members died in the accident — one was recovered at the time of the sinking, and the others went down with the vessel.
The Marines and sailors of Battalion Landing Team 1/4, based at Camp Pendleton, were training with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group near San Clemente Island on July 30. Their assault amphibious vehicle began taking on water on its way back to the amphibious transport dock Somerset around 5:45 p.m., according to the Marine Corps.
There were 16 service members on the vessel went it sank.
Five were rescued and returned to the Somerset, two were hospitalized and one, Lance Cpl. Guillermo Perez, 20, who was from New Braunfels, was pronounced dead at the scene. A two-day search followed for the eight missing men. Last Sunday, the search was halted and they were presumed dead.
The lost Marines and sailor ranged in age from 18 to 23 and included a new father and two Marines who were 18. The sailor was soon to be married.
On Monday, the Navy’s Undersea Rescue Command found the 26-ton vehicle about 1,650 yards off the coast of San Clemente Island. Inside the craft, via cameras on the remote operated submarine Sibitzky, officials found human remains.
An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the sinking; the Marine Corps has suspended all waterborne operations of AAVs until it is complete.
The Marine AAV is an older platform, first deployed in 1972 and updated in the years since.