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2/8 Marines honor the fallen of Exercise Purple Star

Courtesy Photo | Marines with 2nd battalion, 8th Marine regiment, 2nd Marine Division stand in...... read more read more

CAMP LEJEUNE , NC, UNITED STATES

05.05.2017

Courtesy Story

II Marine Expeditionary Force

Marines with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division conducted the 21st annual Purple Star Memorial Ceremony at Camp Lejeune, N.C., May 5.

During the Purple Star Memorial, Marines of 2/8 commemorated the service members who fell during Exercise Purple Star in 1996.

Exercise Purple Star was a combined task force exercise that linked the armed forces of the United States and the United Kingdom in a war game exercise spanning over five states and involved 53,000 troops; 38,000 were U.S. troops.

“Today as we memorialize these fine men who perished over two decades ago,” said Maj. Gen. John K. Love, Commanding general of Second Marine Division. “Let us honor them by rededicating ourselves to the very principles by which they served.”

The ceremony began with a prayer in honor of the fallen, followed by an explanation of Exercise Purple Star and the tragedy that occurred on May 10, 1996.

During the exercise, a CH-46 Sea Knight and an AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopter collided mid-air resulting in the deaths of 14 services members and critically injuring two.

“This tragic event didn’t just shake 2-8,” said Love. “It shook the division, it shook the Marine Corps. In-fact, it shook the nation.”

Lt. Col. Daniel J. Gaskell, the commanding officer of 2nd Battalion 8th Marines, gave a speech describing the first few moments of that fateful morning.

Greeted by the controlled chaos of an active flight deck at night, the men took three strides up the CH-46 ramp and were greeted by the crew chief before taking their seats. An AH-1 Cobra took off followed by the CH-46 descending into the night sky towards the coast of Carolina with the 16 souls on board that would forever be entwined with the battalion’s legacy.

“Today, tomorrow and as long as we endure as a battalion, the Marines and sailors of “America’s Battalion” will gladly and without hesitation take those three long strides up the ramp,” said Gaskell.

Retired Maj. Gen. Michael R. Regner, the former commanding general of 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines was present at the memorial ceremony and dedicated his own speech for those they commemorated.

The ceremony concluded after naming each service member along with the presentation of memorial wreaths by the service members’ command on that day, followed by taps, and a bugle call played during military funerals performed by the Marine Corps band.

“They are still on duty and have taken up new residence as they patrol the paths before us,” said Love. “They would want each and every one of us to fulfill the destiny that God, country and the Corps holds for us.”

“These men will not be forgotten,” said Love.