2,000 People Attend Memorial Service to Honor Fallen Coast Guardsmen

U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area

11.06.2009 SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A gathering of more than 2,000 at U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento helped honor the legacies of seven air crewmen who were aboard a Coast Guard C-130 when it collided with a Marine Corps AH-1W helicopter off the coast of San Clemente Island, Calif., Oct. 30.

The service featured remarks by Air Station Sacramento's commanding officer, the commandant of the Coast Guard, Adm. Thad Allen, and the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, Master Chief Petty Officer Charles "Skip" Bowen.

The service also included a memorial meditation and prayer, a rifle salute, the playing of taps and a flyover by two crews aboard two Barbers Point HH-65s. After a flyover of the air station, one of the HH-65s broke away and flew out to the accident site of Coast Guard 6505 to lay a wreath on the ocean's surface.

The service brought together U.S. Coast Guardsmen from around the country and the families of Lt. Cmdr. Che Barnes, Lt. Adam Bryant, Chief Petty Officer John Seidman, Petty Officer 2nd Class Carl Grigonis, Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Moletzsky, Petty Officer 2nd Class Monica Beacham and Petty Officer 3rd Class Danny Kreder II.

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