Fallen Marines, Navy corpsman honored

Plaques bearing the names of the three Yuma Marines and a sailor who lost their lives in the crash of a search and rescue helicopter were placed on the wall of the city's Armed Forces Park Wednesday morning.

Maj. Cesar Y. Freitas, 35, and Capt. Bradley E. Walters, 33, both pilots; Sgt. Charles L. Osgood, 27, a search and rescue helicopter crew chief, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Brendon W. Sandburg, 25, Branch Medical Clinic Navy hospital corpsman, died Aug. 16 when their helicopter went down as they were returning from a routine training flight near the Yuma Proving Ground.

Brendon's widow, Johnna Sandburg, said the ceremony was a touching and meaningful tribute to her late husband's service to the country.

"It's like he is not being forgotten," she said. "I don't want it to be like it's just another military member who died. It's much deeper than that."

"He was the best brother you could ever have," said Brendon's brother Garrett Sandburg, who also attended the ceremony.

Lance Cpl. Brian D. Stahlhut was the only survivor of the crash.

All five men were stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma and the helicopter was one of four assigned to the base.

The bright red search and rescue Hueys fly daily in support of military operations and respond to civilian rescues within 100 miles of Yuma, according to Marine officials.

Each time a soldier, Marine, sailor, airman or Coast Guard member with Yuma ties is killed while on active duty, a plaque is mounted at the park by members of the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee.

The plaques honoring Freitas, Osgood, Walters and Sandburg were paid for by an anonymous donor.

According to Art Nottingham, chairman of the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce's Armed Forces Park Committee, there are now 1,907 plaques honoring servicemen and women hanging on the walls of the park.

Freitas' widow, Jennifer Freitas, a mother of two who is expecting a third child in January, wiped tears from her eyes as the plaque for her husband was hung next to the others.

"I know he meant a lot to us, so it is nice to know he meant a lot to others also," she said afterwards. "He loved what he did."

In the ceremony, Marine Lt. Col. Ken Woodard also hung a plaque representing all four members of the helicopter crew, complete with their call-signs.

In all, about 100 people attended the ceremony including service personnel from both the Marines and Navy, as well as many elected officials.

BIOGRAPHIES OF CRASH VICTIMS

Capt. Bradley E. Walters

Age: 33

Branch of service: Marine Corps

Date entered service: Dec. 23, 1991

Military occupational skill: Helicopter pilot

Name: Major Cesar Y. Freitas

Age: 35

Branch of service: Marine Corps

Date entered service: Sept. 27, 1993

Military occupational skill: Helicopter pilot

Navy Hospitalman 2nd Class Brendon O. Sandburg

Age: 25

Branch of service: Navy

Date entered service: December 1999

Military occupational skill: Search and rescue corpsman, field medical technician

Sgt. Charles L. Osgood

Age: 27

Branch of service: Marine Corps

Date entered service: Oct. 1, 2002

Military occupational skill: Helicopter crew chief

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James Gilbert can be reached at

jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.