Entwined in Death and Eternity
Five servicemen who died together when their helicopter crashed in Afghanistan were buried together Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery.
An honor guard preceded a horse-drawn caisson containing a single flag-draped coffin with the remains of the five servicemen.
As family members and friends bundled against the cold looked on, a team of soldiers removed the coffin from the wagon and carried it to the burial site. A solitary drummer provided the only sound.
After the eulogy, a seven-member military guard standing yards away fired three times. As part of the ceremony, an MH-53 Pave Low helicopter like the one that went down with the servicemen aboard flew by.
The five were killed in November when their transport helicopter went down just after leaving Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, to support a military operation by the U.S.-led coalition in northeastern Afghanistan.
The Pentagon said mechanical failure apparently caused the crash.
Because their remains were mixed together, the five received a single burial. All five names will appear on a single tombstone.
They are: Air Force Staff Sgt. Thomas A. Walkup Jr. of Millville, N.J.; Air Force Maj. Steven Plumhoff of Neshanic Station, N.J.; Air Force Tech. Sgts. Howard A. Walters of Port Huron, Mich., and William J. Kerwood of Houston, Mo.; and Army Sgt. Maj. Phillip R. Albert of Terryville, Conn.
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