Spared or Not, Pendleton Still Grieves

For Marine families in Southern California, Wednesday’s helicopter crash in Iraq brought a familiar sense of gloom and uncertainty.

As news of the deaths shot through sprawling Camp Pendleton and nearby Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego County, many worried about loved ones, neighbors, co-workers and friends in Iraq.

Military wife Alexandra Ganley woke early Wednesday to learn from television newscasts of the U.S. military’s deadliest day since it led the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. The same reports said some of the dead were based at Pendleton. Her husband was not in the helicopter crash that killed 31, she said. But that was little comfort.

“If it’s not my husband, it could be my neighbor’s husband. The worry is almost greater,” Ganley said in an interview at her military-owned home near Camp Pendleton.

There was no official word over the course of the day about who might have died. And according to nonmilitary sources, it appeared that most of the victims were based elsewhere.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) issued a statement saying that according to initial reports, many of the casualties were Marines based in Hawaii. At least four, she added, were from the Miramar air station, where the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which was operating the helicopter, is based.

Miramar, former home of the Navy’s Top Gun flight school, is about 30 minutes south of Camp Pendleton.

Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), meanwhile, told the Honolulu Advertiser that 27 of the dead were from Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay.

Even though Pendleton may not have lost any Marines on Wednesday, it was still a painful day at the base and nearby communities.

Jerry Alexander, who runs a military supply store in downtown Oceanside, became emotional when asked about the helicopter crash.

“This is starting to look more and more like Vietnam,” said Alexander, 65, whose company has been serving Marines since 1967. “Bush needs to go in there and finish the job or pull out.... This is just going on too long.”

Oceanside, with about 160,000 residents, has long been a home away from home for Marines who venture off base for cheap haircuts, dry cleaning or a bite to eat. In 2003, the city threw a tickertape parade to honor the Marine Corps. About 11,000 Marines marched in the parade and later dined on grilled hot dogs and hamburgers supplied by the city. Yellow ribbons are standard storefront decor and are displayed on trees.

Residents also share their Marine Corps neighbors’ pain. More than 200 Marines assigned to Camp Pendleton have died in Iraq, more than any other base in the nation.

Lance Cpl. David Gomez spent part of Wednesday morning in downtown Oceanside, trying to sell uniforms he will no longer need when he is granted a medical discharge in a couple of weeks.

News of fatalities in Iraq are becoming far too common, Gomez said.

“You’re getting numb to it. People are dying every day. It’s sickening, but it’s almost like a normal thing,” he said.

Although Ganley said she was confident her husband was not in the part of Iraq where the helicopter crashed, she took steps to keep her children from worrying. She turned off the television when they woke.

“You have to face your home life, and it’s hard when you have all these other worries,” she said.

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Times staff writers H.G. Reza and David McKibben contributed to this report.