NAVARRE, fla. — Divers have found the military helicopter that crashed in dense fog during a Florida training mission, killing seven elite Marines and four experienced soldiers. More bad weather Thursday delayed the recovery of bodies and the flight recorder from wreckage 25 feet deep.
The military’s response officially changed from rescue to recovery after divers inspected the shattered core of the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, said Col. Monte Cannon, vice commander of the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base.
The bodies of two soldiers were recovered, but two others were thoughts to remain inside the wreckage, said Maj. Gen. Glenn H. Curtis, adjutant general of the Louisiana Army National Guard, which flew the helicopter carrying the Marines Special Operations Command forces from Camp Lejeune, N.C.
One of the Marines was Kerry Kemp, whose wife, Jenna, was notified overnight that her husband’s remains had been found. Their child is about to turn 1.
Another victim was Marcus Bawol, 27, from Warren, Mich. Bawol “loved everything about the military,” said his sister, Brandy Peek.
