Bodies from Afghan Chopper Crash Arrive in US

(Sept. 23) -- The bodies of nine American soldiers and sailors killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan two days ago have arrived home to a Delaware air base.

Tuesday's crash in southern Afghanistan's Zabul province was the deadliest for coalition forces in nearly a year. NATO said it's investigating the cause, but that no enemy fire was reported in the area.

Unidentified military officials said Tuesday the dead were Americans, but NATO and the U.S. military held off on confirming that until families were informed. The Pentagon identified the victims late Wednesday, when their bodies arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, CNN reported.

Among them was Navy Lt. Brendan John Looney, 29, a 2004 graduate of the Naval Academy, where he was an All-American lacrosse player. Since June 2008, he'd been assigned to a Navy SEAL unit based in Coronado, Calif., the Los Angeles Times reported. His comrades considered Looney "a skilled SEAL operator who led and motivated the people around him," the Times quoted a Navy statement as saying.

Another Navy man killed was Senior Chief Petty Officer David Blake McLendon, 30, his sister told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. McLendon was a member of a Naval Special Warfare unit stationed in Little Creek, Va., his sister Kelly Lockman said. "He loved to go fishing," she was quoted as saying.

Five of the victims were soldiers from the Army's 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, Ky. The others, including Looney and McLendon, were sailors, the military said.

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A list of the dead can be found at Stars and Stripes' website.

The crash occurred on what the military has described as a special operations mission. No further details were released. "The loss of these brave warriors will only strengthen our resolve in the fight against terrorism and terror," said Rear Adm. Edward Winters, commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command, according to the Times.

Tuesday's was the deadliest crash in Afghanistan since October 2009, when seven U.S. military personnel and three civilian Drug Enforcement Administration agents died when their helicopter went down in western Afghanistan. In May 2006, a Chinook crashed during a nighttime landing in eastern Kunar province, killing 10 American soldiers. That followed a 2005 crash in Kunar that killed 16 U.S. soldiers.