Posted on: Thursday, January 27, 2005

EDITORIAL
A day of mourning for all of Hawai'i

Hearts are heavy in Hawai'i today with news that the single deadliest day for the American military in Iraq took its heaviest toll from Marine Corps Base Hawai'i at Kane'ohe Bay.

A Marine helicopter crashed in a desert sandstorm near the Jordanian border yesterday, killing all 31 service members aboard. Of them, 27 reportedly were based here at Kane'ohe.

The helicopter was flying in support of "security and stability operations" in Anbar Province, which includes the rebellious cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.

Of six other U.S. soldiers killed yesterday in Iraq, four were Marines who also died in Anbar. It was not immediately known if any of those four also were based at K-Bay.

The deaths pushed the total of Americans killed in Iraq to 1,418, and exceeded the previous record for American military losses in a single day — the 29 killed on March 23, 2003, just three days after the invasion began.

There was no immediate reason to think the helicopter, a three-engine CH-53E Super Stallion, was brought down by hostile fire.

In November 2003, three helicopters were shot down, resulting in the deaths of 33 American soldiers. Since then, helicopters have flown evasively but more safely at tree-top level, although they still often draw ground fire.

Combat conditions in such unwelcoming climates are beset by many more dangers than hostile weaponry. For helicopters, heat, blowing sand, long distances and the frequency with which they now are being deployed are every bit as dangerous.

The news, of course, is every parent's worst nightmare, and confirmation — if any were needed — that war is a gritty horror, with glory coming only as an afterthought.

All of the friends and neighbors of the K-Bay family — and that's all of us here in Hawai'i — share the sorrow in this tragedy, and we offer our heartfelt condolences.