Marines to Honor Chopper Crash Victims
Thursday, Nov 19, 2009 | Updated 7:30 AM PDT
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An AH-1W 'Super Cobra' helicopter like this one has collided with a coast guard plane.
Marines will gather Thursday for a memorial service at Camp Pendleton for two men killed last month when their Marine helicopter collided with a Coast Guard plane.
The service at the base chapel is for Maj. Samuel Leigh of Belgrade, Maine, and 1st Lt. Thomas Claiborne of Parker, Colo.
They died on a training exercise Oct. 29 about 50 miles off the Southern California coast. Their AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter collided with a Coast Guard C-130 plane on a mission to rescue a missing boater.
Seven Coast Guard members who also died in the crash have been honored at a service in Sacramento.
A joint Marines-Coast Guard board is investigating the cause of the crash.
