Search continues for 12 Marines, 2 from Pennsylvania
The search continued Sunday for 12 Marines - including two from Pennsylvania - reported missing after two helicopters crashed late Thursday off the coast of Hawaii during a nighttime training mission.
The search continued Sunday for 12 Marines - including two from Pennsylvania - reported missing after two helicopters crashed late Thursday off the coast of Hawaii during a nighttime training mission.
Among the missing are Capt. Brian T. Kennedy, 31, of Malvern, and Sgt. Adam C. Schoeller, 25, a native of Gardners, Pa., located north of Gettysburg in Cumberland County.
By late Sunday, military officials had released only the names, ages and hometowns of the Marines.
Rescuers battled high waves that dispersed debris from the aircraft and complicated the search in the waters off Oahu.
William Kennedy said his son was a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and was a Malvern native.
"This is where he grew up and went to high school, but since he graduated from the Naval Academy, he's been on assignment," he said.
He declined further comment, but of the rescuers, he said, "We hope they're successful."
Schoeller attended Boiling Springs High School, according to his Facebook page, which lists his current home as Jacksonville, N.C.
Al Moyer, superintendent, of the South Middleton Township School District that Schoeller attended, said the crash "really hits close to home" in the community.
Schoeller is the crew chief of a CH-53E Super Stallion, the U.S. military's largest helicopter, capable of carrying a light armored vehicle, 16 tons of cargo or a team of combat-equipped Marines. The crew chief's job involves maintaining the aircraft before and during the flight, according to the Marine Corps.
In July, Schoeller married Samantha Wickel-Schoeller, a native of Raleigh, N.C., who lived in Philadelphia for three years, according to her aunt, Kathy Healy Wickel of Quakertown.
"Samantha moved back to North Carolina, which is where she met Adam," said Healy Wickel. "When he was transferred to Hawaii, she went with him."
Over the last few days, Healy Wickel has talked and texted with her niece about the crisis, she said.
"Yesterday, she crumbled," Healy Wickel said. "You keep hoping and hoping."
The search began after the helicopters, carrying six crew members each, failed to return to their base at Kaneohe Bay. Hours later, a Coast Guard helicopter and C-130 airplane spotted debris in the water about 21/2 miles off Oahu.
215-854-4906
@JeffGammage
This article contains information from the Associated Press.