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<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge)   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Gregory J. Billiter • Curtis Hall • Adam McSween   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, May 1, 2007 Three fallen sailors honored By Jim Haley / Herald Writer OAK HARBOR - Friends and cohorts of three slain sailors delivered gripping and emotional tributes to their fallen comrades Monday during the only memorial service for all three. What came across loud and clear was a recognition of the close bond formed by the men and women of Explosive Ordnance Disposable Mobile Unit 11 based at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. The sailors were killed April 6 during combat in Iraq when a rocket struck their vehicle. Two of them had families in Oak Harbor. They are Chief Petty Officer Gregory Billiter, 36, whose hometown is Villa Hills, Ky., and Petty Officer 1st Class Adam McSween, 26, of Valdosta, Ga. The third was Petty Officer 2nd Class Curtis Hall, 24, whose family lives in Burley, Idaho. Individual funeral services were held earlier by the sailors' families. The sailors were the first from the naval air station to die in combat since 1991, when two airmen were shot down at the outset of the first Gulf War. A theater full of friends, family members and about 150 members of the explosive disposal unit filled a theater for the ceremony. Several enlisted men talked about the term "friend" extending to all the unit members, where each sailor must watch someone else's back. Unit commanding officer Cmdr. Martin Beck called the three some of the Navy's best. "These are three of America's finest sons. These are my guys," Beck said. Unit members, all close friends of the dead sailors, gave emotional testimonials about the quality of men who were lost, their practical jokes, their loyalty to the job and their devotion to their shipmates and family. "He was truly one of the best of us and the best friend I ever had," Chief Petty Officer Matthew Broderson said of Billiter. "Greg always had to do everything as close to humanly perfect as possible." Broderson talked about the strong brotherhood formed among men and women who do a dangerous job. In Iraq, the unit has been used to dispose of roadside bombs, caches of munitions and similar dangerous missions. He also mentioned how Billiter loved his wife, April, and their son, Cooper. The same thing was said about McSween. "Adam believed in the people he served with," said Petty Officer 1st Class Randy Leppell about his friend McSween. "His love for the job was superseded by his love for his family, his girls. He bragged constantly about them." He left Erin McSween and their daughters, Lilly and Gwyne, in Oak Harbor. Hall was a relatively new unit member, coming aboard in September. Hall worked hard to make up for a lack of experience, said Petty Officer 2nd Class John Richards. He earned the name "Probie," for being on probation, but that didn't phase Hall. "He just went to work. He worked hard," Richards said. "He showed what he could do by his actions. He just wanted to please his teammates and they knew they could depend on him." His parents, Clarence and Pamela Hall from Idaho, and several of the sailor's siblings attended the ceremony. The lengthy ceremony included the playing of bagpipes by unit member Petty Officer 2nd Class John Dawson, the singing of "Amazing Grace" by the Oak Harbor Church of Christ choir and a dramatic roll call where the slain sailors names were called and nobody responded. Family members were each presented a shadowbox, a Navy tradition when a sailor leaves a ship. The shadowbox was adorned by an American flag and various medals earned by each. At the base of the stage were three "boot memorials," one for each sailor. They included combat boots, an M-16 rifle, dog tags, a helmet and a photo of each sailor. Commanding officer Beck said the unit has bonded with toil, sweat and now blood. "I know that something good has to come from this because that's what we do," Beck said. "We adapt and overcome." Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.

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