Seven victims identified in Marine helicopter crash
SAN DIEGO — Their hometowns stretched from Connecticut to California. One young man was soon to become a father, another had just gotten engaged. One was a former youth pastor, while another was the son of one.
They were among the seven Marines killed in one of the Corps’ deadliest aviation training accidents in years.
As their families grieved and shared memories, crews worked to clean up the accident site on a sprawling desert range near Yuma, Ariz.
The dead, part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, were Maj. Thomas A. Budrejko, 37, of Montville, Conn.; Capt. Michael M. Quin, 28, of Purcellville, Va.; Capt. Benjamin N. Cerniglia, 31, of Montgomery, Ala.; Sgt. Justin A. Everett, 33, of Clovis, Calif.; Lance Cpl. Corey A. Little, 25, of Marietta, Ga.; Lance Cpl. Nickoulas H. Elliott, 21, of Spokane, Wash.; and Capt. Nathan W. Anderson, 32, of Amarillo, Texas.
It was the fifth aviation accident since March involving the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing headquartered at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego. Throughout the Navy and Marine Corps, there have been two other aviation training accidents in the past five years involving seven or more deaths, according to the military’s Naval Safety Center.
Anderson was based in Yuma, and the others were from Camp Pendleton in Southern California, the West Coast’s largest base.
“Every single one of these Marines impacted our squadron in their own special way, and the entire Marine Corps aviation community is feeling their tragic loss,” said Lt. Col. Stephen Lightfoot, commanding officer of the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469.
It could take weeks to determine what caused two helicopters, an AH-1W Cobra and a UH-1 Huey, to crash in midair during a routine exercise Wednesday night, killing all aboard the aircraft.
Two of the Marines who died were aboard the AH-1W Cobra, and the rest were in the UH-1 Huey utility helicopter. They were flying in a remote section of the 1.2 million-acre Yuma Training Range Complex as part of a two-week standard training called “Scorpion Fire” that involved a squadron of about 450 troops from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Everett was aboard the Huey as a crew chief, according to his family. He had served in Iraq and was about to deploy to Afghanistan.
Everett, who leaves behind a wife, a 5-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son, left a job as a youth pastor at a Fresno church to join the Marines after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, said his mother, Patsy Everett.
Little, also a Huey helicopter crew chief, was married and expecting his first child in September.
Cerniglia was the son of senior Pastor Mark Cerniglia at the Lutheran Church of Our Savior in South Carolina, where a memorial service is planned today.
Quin had just gotten engaged last month to his longtime girlfriend, said his father, Brad Quin.