OAK HARBOR – A private memorial service is scheduled for Monday to honor three Whidbey Island Naval Air Station sailors who died April 6 during combat in Iraq.
The 4 p.m. ceremony will be hosted by Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 11, which is assigned to Whidbey.
Friends and family members of the fallen sailors, who were part of the unit, have been invited. Seating is limited, base spokeswoman Kimberly Martin said.
The city of Oak Harbor will also honor the sailors and all those serving in the armed services at 4 p.m. May 4 at a public ceremony at Flintstone Park overlooking the Oak Harbor marina, Martin said.
The three men died in combat, but details of how they died have not be disclosed.
Chief Petty Officer Gregory Billiter, 36, and Petty Officer 1st Class Adam McSween, 26, leave families in Oak Harbor. Billiter’s hometown is Villa Hills, Ky., and McSween’s hometown is Valdosta, Ga.
The third sailor was Petty Officer 2nd Class Curtis Hall, 24, of Burley, Idaho.
Memorial fund accounts have been set up with the Navy Federal Credit Union for the men’s families. Donations may be made to any Navy Federal Credit Union worldwide in the name of each sailor.
Explosive ordnance disposal personnel are highly trained technicians who work to identify and defuse explosive materials.
It’s a dangerous job. Roadside and car bombs have caused the deaths of hundreds of U.S. service members in Iraq. Unit members often deploy in detachments of 15 or so, and they are responsible for deactivating suspicious devices.
There are about 160 officers and enlisted personnel attached to the Whidbey unit. There are 14 disposal and training units spread around the country.
The three are the first Whidbey sailors killed in combat since Desert Storm, when two Whidbey A-6 Intruder aviators died in a crash, base spokesman Tony Popp said.
The last Whidbey combat deaths were in 1991, at the outset of the war to liberate Kuwait. Lt. William Thomas Costen, 27, of St. Louis, Mo., and Lt. Charlie Turner, 29, of Richfield, Minn., were killed when their A-6 attack plane crashed.
Anyone who wants to convey personal notes of condolence to the families of the sailors killed April 6 can do so by mailing them to EODMU-11, 180 W. Tulagi Ave., Oak Harbor, WA 98278.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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