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24 March 2014, USMC Major Heath Ruppert and Mrs. Susan Craig meet with a group of Djiboutian soldiers who helped rescue the pair following a February 2006 crash of two USMC CH-53 helicopters off the coast of Djibouti. Mrs. Craig, who has since separated from the Marine Corps, and Major Rupert were pilot and co-pilot of one of the aircraft and survived due to the response of four Djiboutian soldiers who rendered aid at the scene and helped transport the pair to safety.
Mrs. Craig and Major Ruppert traveled to Djibouti from the United States to reunite with the Djiboutian soldiers and to attend a ceremony on Camp Lemonnier to honor the actions of the four Djiboutians.
Army Staff Sergeant Luke Thompson reunited the group following a chance meeting while he was on a Civil Affairs mission at a Djiboutian Army Base in October 2013. During the mission a Djiboutian soldier approached him and handed him a letter describing the rescue and inquiring about the status of the survivors. Staff Sergeant Thompson, who was assigned to Camp Lemonnier in February 2006 and was scheduled to be on one of those helicopters but was pulled from the mission at the last moment, immediately recognized the story and began the process to reunite the survivors and their rescuers.
| Date Taken: | 03.25.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 03.25.2014 16:15 |
| Category: | B-Roll |
| Video ID: | 324286 |
| VIRIN: | 140325-F-TE260-664 |
| Filename: | DOD_101191441 |
| Length: | 00:05:17 |
| Location: | CAMP LEMONNIER, DJ |
| Downloads: | 2 |
| High-Res. Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Djiboutian Reunion Ceremony Speeches, by TSgt Giana Recio, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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