New Jersey Soldier One Of 2 Killed In Black Hawk Training Crash In California
SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND, Calif. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Two U.S. Army special operations soldiers, including one from New Jersey, died after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training exercise in California.
The Army says 33-year-old Staff Sgt. Vincent P. Marketta, of Brick, New Jersey, and 22-year-old Sgt. Tyler M. Shelton, of San Bernardino, California, died Thursday from injuries "sustained during an aircraft mishap while conducting aviation training," according to a U.S. Army Special Operations Command statement.
Marketta enlisted in the Army in 2011 and was later assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. He was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Both Marketta and Shelton will receive the Meritorious Service Medal posthumously, officials said.
Further details about the accident were not released.
J. Elise Van Pool, an Army spokeswoman, confirmed in an email that three other soldiers were injured in the crash but said she did not have any other details to provide "as the incident is just beginning to be investigated."
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(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)