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Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. Defense Department Thursday released the
names of U.S. military personnel killed in Saturday's downing of a helicopter
in Afghanistan.
Thirty-eight people were killed in that attack, eight of them Afghan
military personnel. It was the single largest loss of life for U.S. troops
since the Afghan war began in late 2001.
Of the 30 Americans killed in the helicopter crash, 17 were Navy SEALs.
Twenty-two of the dead were U.S. Navy personnel, the Pentagon said. Fifteen
were SEALs belonging to the top-secret unit that conducted the raid that killed
al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at a compound in Pakistan. Two others were
SEALs assigned to a regular Naval special operations unit.
Five were so-called conventional forces with particular specialties who
regularly worked with the SEALs.
The other eight U.S. troops killed included three Air Force forward air
controllers and five Army helicopter crew members.
NATO said it killed the militants responsible for the attack. Taliban
spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid rejected that, saying a NATO airstrike killed a
separate group of insurgents.
The following list was provided by the Defense Department:
The following sailors assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare
unit were killed:
Lt. Cmdr. (SEAL) Jonas B. Kelsall, 32, of Shreveport, La.,
Special Warfare Operator Master Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Louis J.
Langlais, 44, of Santa Barbara, California;
Special Warfare Operator Senior Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Thomas A.
Ratzlaff, 34, of Green Forest, Arkansas;
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Senior Chief Petty Officer
(Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Kraig M. Vickers 36, of
Kokomo, Hawaii;
Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Brian R. Bill, 31, of
Stamford, Connecticut;
Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) John W. Faas, 31, of
Minneapolis, Minnesota;
Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Kevin A. Houston, 35, of
West Hyannisport, Massachusetts;
Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Matthew D. Mason, 37, of
Kansas City, Missouri;
Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Stephen M. Mills, 35, of
Fort Worth, Texas;
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Chief Petty Officer (Expeditionary
Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist/Diver) Nicholas H. Null, 30, of
Washington, West Virginia;
Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Robert J. Reeves, 32, of
Shreveport, Louisiana;
Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Heath M. Robinson, 34, of
Detroit, Michigan;
Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Darrik C. Benson,
28, of Angwin, California;
Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Parachutist)
Christopher G. Campbell, 36, of Jacksonville, North Carolina;
Information Systems Technician Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary
Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Jared W. Day, 28, of Taylorsville,
Utah;
Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist)
John Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, Nebraska;
Cryptologist Technician (Collection) Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary
Warfare Specialist) Michael J. Strange, 25, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Enlisted Surface
Warfare Specialist) Jon T. Tumilson, 35, of Rockford, Iowa;
Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Aaron C. Vaughn, 30,
of Stuart, Florida;
Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Jason R. Workman,
32, of Blanding, Utah.
The following sailors assigned to a West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare
unit were killed:
Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Jesse D. Pittman,
27, of Ukiah, California, and
Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL) Nicholas P. Spehar,
24, of Saint Paul, Minnesota.
The soldiers killed were:
Chief Warrant Officer David R. Carter, 47, of Centennial, Colorado. He was
assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support
Aviation Battalion), Aurora;
Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Nichols, 31, of Hays, Kansas. He was assigned
to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation
Battalion), New Century, Kansas;
Sgt. Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb. He was assigned to the 2nd
Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), Grand
Island, Nebraska;
Sgt. Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Washington. He was assigned to the
7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New
Century, Kansas; and
Spc. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kansas. He was assigned to the 7th
Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New
Century, Kansas.
The airmen killed were:
Tech. Sgt. John W. Brown, 33, of Tallahassee, Florida;
Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Harvell, 26, of Long Beach, California; and
Tech. Sgt. Daniel L. Zerbe, 28, of York, Pennsylvania.
All three airmen were assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope
Field, North Carolina.
On Thursday, Al Jazeera aired video of what it said was wreckage of the
helicopter. The video shows unspent shells; papers in English and rubble.
"These are the only
pictures of the helicopter remains that NATO forces were not able to
hide," the narrator says. "It's apparent that the helicopter did not
only fall, but it exploded and scattered."