It comes at a very high cost to all of us.
God bless our fallen Marines and comfort their families.
Posted on 05/21/2003 7:15:28 PM PDT by Jim Robinson
Family holds out some hope
EUREKA -- A Eureka serviceman may have been one of at least four U.S. Marines killed Monday in a transport helicopter crash in Central Iraq near Karbala.
If that is the case, it would be Humboldt County's first reported casualty of the war in Iraq. But family members here say they haven't given up hope that he may have survived.
Marine Capt. Andrew La Mont, 32, a Eureka native who during the Iraq war flew wounded servicemen to hospitals in Kuwait, has been listed as missing by the Marines. He was aboard the Marine CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter that crashed into a canal southeast of Karbala on Monday. According to news reports, so far there's no word on whether the crash was caused by hostile action.
At least four people were aboard, although the La Mont family in Eureka said they were told by the Marines that seven were aboard. Another servicemember drowned while trying to rescue the crew in the downed helicopter.
La Mont, 32, until his departure to Iraq earlier this year had been stationed at Camp Pendleton near San Diego.
A Marine captain and sergeant traveled to Eureka from the San Francisco area Tuesday to notify La Mont's brother, Christopher La Mont, of the incident. Christopher La Mont and his wife, Nancy, also have a son, Marine Cpl. Christopher J. La Mont, who is serving with the U.S. Marines 1st Expeditionary Unit in Iraq. Having completed his own tour, Cpl. La Mont is expected to arrive stateside today. Also, a cousin, U.S. Navy Cmdr. David Buckey, is stationed aboard a ship in the Persian Gulf.
"We were hoping Humboldt County would get away with no one lost," Nancy La Mont said. "But there's still hope."
Christopher La Mont said he's hoping by some miracle his younger brother may have survived the accident.
"We're still praying he might be floating in the canal with a life preserver -- that's our ray of hope right now," he said.
The missing serviceman's parents, James and Vivian La Mont, also of Eureka, were at their son's house in Oceanside Tuesday. The family is expected to gather at Camp Pendleton, where a memorial service for the crew is scheduled for Friday.
The Times-Standard did a feature on he La Mont Family a few days ago and If I find it I will post it.
It comes at a very high cost to all of us.
God bless our fallen Marines and comfort their families.
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