30 U.S. Troops Killed After Their Helicopter Went Down
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- We now know more about the 30 US troops killed when their helicopter went down over Afghanistan. Denise Koch reports among the victims were members of the same team of Navy SEALs that took down Osama bin Laden.
It will take two transport planes to bring all the flag-draped caskets home. Thirty Americans were aboard that Chinook helicopter when it went down, a crash so horrific that remains have not yet been identified. It's a shocking loss for the nation, an indescribably one for the stepfather of Navy SEAL Brian Bill.
"We're heartbroken. We mourn more than anything else his life of unfulfilled dreams. He was already an accomplished mountaineer, skier, pilot and triathlete," said Bill's stepfather, Michael Parry.
President Barack Obama says the tragedy won't stop the US from its mission overseas.
"We will press on and we will succeed," Obama said.
The SEALs aboard the Chinook were assigned to back up another team, which had hit a compound in the Tanji valley west of Kabul, looking for a local Afghan leader. The team got pinned down in a firefight and called for help. The Chinook with 30 Americans, eight Afghans and a dog aboard was apparently hit by a rocket-propelled grenade as it came in.
The aircraft carrying the Americans took off from Afghanistan for the final journey home. They will arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware Tuesday morning.
