Posted on 07/04/2005 11:09:59 AM PDT by wagglebee
VIRGINIA BEACH — Lt. Cmdr. Erik Kristensen read poetry and kicked around the beach in a pair of Birkenstocks.
Chief Petty Officer Jacques J. Fontan shot a scratch round of golf and carried an incurable love for the New Orleans Saints.
The two men shared an elite title – Navy SEAL – and were deployed to Afghanistan in April as part of a group from SEAL Team 10. Kristensen and Fontan were among 16 servicemen killed Tuesday when their MH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down by enemy fire during a mountain rescue mission.
Late Saturday, the Pentagon officially released the names of Special Forces and SEALs killed in last week’s helicopter crash. Five of the eight SEALs killed were from SEAL Team 10, based at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base.
Family and friends had earlier confirmed the deaths of Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffery A. Lucas , Lt. Michael M. McGreevy, and Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey S. Taylor.
On Sunday, friends and families of Kristensen and Fontan continued to grieve and celebrate the lives of their loved ones.
Kristensen, 33, did not have to look far to find a Navy career. His father, retired Rear Adm. Edward K. Kristensen, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and commanded a combat logistics group at Little Creek. His only son was born at the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center.
But his mother, Suzanne “Sam” Kristensen, said the family never pushed their only child into a military career. Although he stood well over 6 feet tall, his mother called him a “big puppy.”
“He was a very, very laid back young man,” she said.
Kristensen was a gifted writer and a quick study, which enabled him to graduate with honors from the Naval Academy in 1997, she said.
He loved reading Shakespeare and Melville, and he loved being on the water, his mother said. Kristensen, who was single, lived blocks from the ocean in Virginia Beach.
A few years ago, he considered switching careers, his mother said. He would either apply to law school or try to become a SEAL. The Navy won out, and Kristensen completed his SEAL training in March 2001.
He spoke French, and was selected as an Olmsted Foundation Scholar to study at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris next year. The program allows a select few service members to study abroad for two years.
Her son never spoke much about his deployments, she said. “Boys are boys,” she said. “SEALs are SEALs.”
Fontan, 36, grew up in New Orleans and enlisted in the Navy a few years after graduating from high school.
Fontan met his future wife, Charissa Fletcher, in Jacksonville, Fla. She was in college and he was a rescue swimming instructor at Jacksonville Naval Station, said Michael Fletcher, Charissa’s father, in an interview Sunday.
Fletcher, a retired Navy chief, asked around about the young man who was interested in marrying his daughter. The reports came back glowing, Fletcher said. “The man has proven himself 100 times over,” he said.
Fletcher said Fontan asked his daughter if he should retire from the Navy or try for the SEALs. “Go for it,” Charissa had said. Fontan became a SEAL in October 1998.
In the past few years, Fontan located a childhood friend – professional golfer Kelly Gibson.
In a telephone interview from his home in New Orleans, Gibson said he and Fontan envied each other’s jobs. Gibson said Fontan was a scratch golfer.
A few days before Fontan deployed, Gibson and his wife shared a dinner with the Fontans at an Emeril’s Restaurant in New Orleans. They toured the kitchen and popped a bottle of champagne. They stayed up half the night, talking about golf and war.
Gibson received e-mails from Afghanistan. Gibson won a celebrity auction to coach the New Orleans Saints during an exhibition game. He planned to take Fontan along as his assistant coach.
Gibson was stunned last week when he heard about the crash.
“I know he was in the helicopter fighting,” he said. Gibson sobbed.
Families of both SEALs said a memorial service is planned for Friday morning at Little Creek.
Sam Kristensen said her son will be buried in his Birkenstocks.
Ping!
Special Forces do the Toughest of the Tough missions. 21 Guns to ALL of them!
Very sad! God bless our fallen heroes and their families.
Patriotism Ping!
.
Sacrifice begets Sacrifice:
MEL's -PASSION- sparked by -WE WERE SOLDIERS
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1085111/posts
Just for the LOVE of it.
.
Men like this allow people to say crap like this:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1436336/posts
.
NEVER FORGET
JOHN LENNON
JOHN KERRY
DIANE Hillary RODHAM
WILLIAM Jefferson CLINTON
TED KENNEDY
JANE FONDA
TOM HAYDEN
JESSE JACKSON
RAMSEY CLARKE
...were all actively on the side of our terrorist enemy, Communist North Vietnam Dictator HO CHI MINH, and against US who were fighting for the Freedom of others during the Vietnam War.
Nothing has changed since...
except it's...
our own Freedom that's...
directly at stake...
here at home...
with an enemy that's now...
just around the corner and...
up your street.
Are these "Media Stars" worth listening to any longer, I ask, after your having seen these ...thanks to them:
Pictures of a vietnamese Re-Education Camp
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1308949/posts
Signed:.."ALOHA RONNIE" Guyer
Veteran-"WE WERE SOLDIERS" Battle of IA DRANG-1965
http://www.WeWereSoldiers.com
(Paramount Pictures website)
http://www.lzxray.com/guyer_collection.htm
(Photos)
NEVER FORGET
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