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[h=4]At least 2 bodies recovered from helicopter crash[/h]NAVARRE BEACH, Fla. — Heavy rain could hamper the continuing search Thursday for 11 servicemembers presumed killed after their Army helicopter crashed in a training exercise off the Florida Panhandle. Dense
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The missing Black Hawk helicopter that went down off the Florida panhandle has been found. According to authorities, the operation is now being considered a recovery operation and they are not hopeful for survivors. VPC
In dense fog, a U.S. Coast Guard boat searches March 11, 2015, a downed Army helicopter in the Intercostal Waterway northeast of Navarre Beach, Fla.(Photo: Tony Giberson, Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal)
NAVARRE BEACH, Fla. — The bodies of two soldiers have been recovered after an Army helicopter crash off the Florida Panhandle, Louisiana National Guard officials said Thursday.
Divers also have found the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that went down in heavy fog, but weather could continue to hamper recovery of the bodies of four Guardsmen and seven Marines who died after it crashed in a Tuesday training exercise.
The bodies of the two remaining soldiers are believed to be inside the aircraft, which was reported missing around 8:30 p.m. CT Tuesday as the area was under a fog advisory, Guard officials said in a press release.
Divers found the helicopter in several pieces on the bottom of the Santa Rosa Sound at about 9 a.m. Wednesday as heavy fog continued to blanket the area, said Fire Chief Mark Giuliano at nearby Elgin Air Force Base. He was commander of the rescue operations.
"The conditions out there were very, very dense," Giuliano said of the night the helicopter went down and rescue boats were called out. "The boats that did get out there could not see."
USA TODAY
11 presumed dead in military helicopter crash
Officials at Eglin, about 50 miles east of Pensacola, confirmed that all 11 troops likely were dead but did not say how many bodies had been recovered and have not released the names of the men. But grieving Marine and Guardsman families who were notified in the past day have been talking about their loved ones:
• Marine Kerry Kemp, who was based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., is among the dead, said his sister-in-law, Lora Waraksa of Port Washington, Wis. Marines notified Waraksa and her sister, Jenna Kemp, overnight that Kerry Kemp's remains had been found. Kemp was a "proud Marine, a loving husband and most wonderful father," with a child about 1 year old, she said.
• Marine Marcus Bawol, 27, of Warren, Mich., also is among the missing and now presumed dead, according to the Macomb Daily.
• Staff Sgt. Andrew Seif of Holland, Mich., was awarded the Silver Star, the Marine Corps third highest award for valor, on Friday. Two Marines at his family's home Thursday said Seif's status is unknown, according to the Holland (Mich.) Sentinel.
• Guardsman David Strother of Pineville, La., also had a son who is in the Army, according to The (Baton Rouge, La.) Advocate.
"The entire military community mourns the loss of our friends that we consider family," Maj. Gen. Glenn Curtis, adjutant general of the Louisiana National Guard, said in the release. "We are heartbroken. We are shocked. But we are a team — standing together for the families and for each other."
USA TODAY
Copter crash marks another dark chapter for Marine unit
Since late Tuesday, rescuers have been searching a more than 50-square-mile area of water between Santa Rosa Island and the mainland southeast of Navarre Beach, an area on the barrier island that the base has been using for training since World War II.
On Wednesday, searchers frustrated by fog that kept airborne efforts grounded for hours, discovered pieces of the helicopter that had washed ashore and also remains of some of the victims. On Thursday, Air Force Col. Monte Cannon, vice commander of the 96th Test Wing, said their efforts have transitioned from rescue to recovery.
Three boats remain in the water now, Coast Guard Lt. Lily Zepeda said.
Fog and intermittent rain could continue in the area until Sunday, according to a National Weather Service forecast.
Although divers found the helicopter wreckage and retrieved some pieces of the aircraft Wednesday afternoon, not all of the fuselage has been recovered, Giuliano said. They had to halt operations in the evening when underwater visibility also decreased.
Guiliano: helicopter found in several pieces. Divers went in around 2 p.m. Wednesday to retrieve aircraft pieces.
— Kevin Robinson (@KevRobinsonPNJ) March 12, 2015
The helicopter's black box also has not been brought to the surface yet, he said. When it is, it will be forwarded to personnel from the Army's Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., who will take the lead in investigating the crash. A team of Army, Air Force, National Guard, Marine and Navy experts are expected to take months to determine its cause.
The troops who died were at Eglin on temporary assignment. The Marines from the Marine Corps Special Operations Command at Camp Lejeune were practicing insertion and extraction techniques, using small boats and helicopters to get into and out of a target site, and the training in adverse weather conditions was not unusual, officials said.
The Guardsmen from the Louisiana National Guard's 1-244th Assault Helicopter Battalion in Hammond, La., were the Black Hawk's pilots and crew. The unit had served two tours of duty overseas in the Iraq war and also deployed to help during hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the BP oil spill, Mississippi River flooding and other domestic missions.
The deaths may be the largest number of U.S. military air fatalities since the war in Afghanistan. On Aug. 6, 2011, 30 American troops and eight Afghans died after the Taliban shot down a a CH-47 Chinook helicopter crash in Wardak province, west of Kabul.
Contributing: The Associated Press
BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER SEARCH AND RESCUEBlack Hawk helicopter found in pieces underwater | 02:13The missing Black Hawk helicopter that went down off the Florida panhandle has been found. According to authorities, the operation is now being considered a recovery operation and they are not hopeful for survivors. VPC
BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER SEARCH AND RESCUEBlack Hawk flight team in crash were highly experienced | 00:50The flight team from Louisiana that was on board the Black Hawk that went down off the coast of Florida were all either married or had children. They were also extremely experienced. VPC
BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER SEARCH AND RESCUEDid weather play a factor in Black Hawk crash? | 01:30Thick fog continues to hamper the search for a downed UH-60 Black Hawk that crashed off Florida's Panhandle on Tuesday. Authorities say this is still considered a rescue mission for the 11 missing service members, though they are presumed dead. VPC
BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER SEARCH AND RESCUEArmy: Black Hawk pilots in crash were highly trained | 00:46Major General Curtis from the Army National Guard said the helicopter crew involved in the crash had thousands of hours of experience in the Black Hawk. VPC
BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER SEARCH AND RESCUEDefense Secretary: Chopper victims in our prayers | 00:35Defense Secretary Ashton Carter took a moment out of a previously scheduled briefing with his British counterpart to recognize the 11 servicemembers involved in a helicopter crash in the Gulf of Mexico. VPC
BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER SEARCH AND RESCUEObama confident in investigation of Black Hawk crash | 00:29White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said President Obama is confident the military will conduct a thorough investigation into cause of a helicopter crash with 11 military members on board. VPC
BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER SEARCH AND RESCUEBlack Hawk crash: Fog hampers search efforts | 00:48Heavy fog in Navarre, Fla., hampers search-and-recovery efforts for a downed military helicopter.
BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER SEARCH AND RESCUEDeaths confirmed in military helicopter crash | 01:11An Eglin Air Force Base spokesman confirmed that at least some of the 11 missing military members died when their helicopter crashed in the panhandle of Florida. VPC
BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER SEARCH AND RESCUEMarines, soldiers missing after Army helicopter crash | 02:01An Army helicopter went down during a night training exercise at an Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle.
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