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Lt. Col. Eugene Thorn (left), West Virginia Wing director of emergency services and incident commander for the Feb. 18 rescue mission, receives a plaque, coins and a photograph signed by the crashed U.S. Navy MH-60S chopper’s crew from Commander Heath Howell, commanding officer of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26, during the March 10 recognition ceremony.
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First responders gather with crew members from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26 and Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Atlantic for a group photo.
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Air Force Capt. Stephen Schreiber, Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Atlantic commander.
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Maj. Gen. Allen Tackett, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard.
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The plaque presented to the West Virginia Wing for its assistance during the rescue.
Maj. Jeffery Schrock
Public Affairs Officer
West Virginia Wing
WEST VIRGINIA —Members of the Beckley and Mercer composite squadrons were among those honored March 10 in Elkins for their role in battling freezing temperatures and treacherous terrain rescuing the 17 crew members and passengers aboard a U.S. Navy helicopter that crashed into a West Virginia mountainside Feb. 18.
The MH-60S was carrying 11 Navy personnel, four Army National Guardsmen and two Marines when it went down. The group was participating in "Operation Southbound Trooper X," an annual exercise focusing on the integration of joint U.S. and NATO tactics and procedures as well as inter-service coordination and capabilities, when the crash occurred.
Nearly three weeks later, weather conditions were very different when two Black Hawk helicopters landed at Elkins- Randolph County Airport for the awards presentation.
Maj. Gen. Allen Tackett, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard, and Rear Adm. Davis Anderson, vice commander of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command, were among the military dignitaries present for the ceremony. Three of the troops who had been aboard the ill-fated chopper also made the trip so they could thank their rescuers.
Capt. Stephen Schreiber, Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Atlantic commander, and Commander Heath Howell, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26 commanding officer, could not say enough about the professionalism and dedication displayed in the rescue effort.
"I truly don't have words that can express how thankful I am and the Navy is for what everyone in this room, and those who couldn't make it in today, have done for all 17 of our crew to get them off that mountain," Schreiber said.
Each in attendance received a picture of the helicopter signed by its crew, a plaque and special coins presented by members of the Norfolk, Va.-based squadron.
“It was a team effort, to have all those agencies work together,” said Col. Rod Moore, West Virginia Wing vice commander. “I’m certainly proud of our organization, and to those people who participated in this mission under difficult conditions to lend aid in this rescue.”
Maj. Dave Chaney, the Beckley squadron’s commander and ground team leader during the rescue, found it “very gratifying” that “all the training I’ve received … paid off with 17 saves.”
“My team was very professional, and they provided a lot of help in this whole situation,” Chaney said.
After rescuers reached the crash site, the chopper’s crew and passengers had to be carried by stretcher through 500-600 yards of snow that was waist-deep or higher to a Sno-Cat provided by Snowshoe Mountain Resort, he recalled. They were eventually transported to local hospitals.
Lt. Col. Eugene Thorn, the wing’s director of emergency services and incident commander for the mission and, said that many times during the night while talking with the Navy and the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center he was told how impressed they were with the ground team’s actions
“This mission is likely the most strenuous effort that has been put forth by a CAP ground team for many years,“ Thorn said. “It shows the fortitude and determination that comes from constant training, and a desire to help our fellow man."
The Navy said it's still investigating the cause of the crash. Only two of the 17 involved in the crash remain in the hospital, and the Navy says it expects them to make a full recovery.
