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LDS Marine Survives Afghan Crash
SIX MILE, SOUTH CAROLINA -- Roseanne Sullivan felt uneasy and
couldn't sleep Saturday night. When she turned on the television at 4
a.m. Sunday she heard about a U. S. helicopter that had crashed in
Afghanistan. Sullivan's 24-year-old son, Stephen, a U.S. Marine Corps
corporal, is a helicopter crew chief in action in Afghanistan.
Breaking news said the chopper was a CHE-53E Super Stallion, the kind
of helicopter Stephen flew in. Two men were dead and five were
injured. Sullivan couldn't get rid of her worry. She was just leaving
for church at her LDS ward building when three Marines knocked at her
door. The Marines told her Stephen was on the doomed chopper but was
alive,
"That was as much information as they were able to give us," his
mother said. "He was alive." Stephen Sullivan's wife, Penny, learned
about the crash from Marines who came to her home in San Diego, where
her husband's unit is based. "I just asked if he was dead. I just
wanted to know right away," said the 24-year-old military wife, who
has two young daughters and a third child due in July. "They said no,
and the relief was just great."
She spoke to her husband by telephone the next day. "Our hearts are
going out to those who aren't going to make it home," the young wife
said. Stephen Sullivan's injuries don't appear to be life
threatening. He had surgery for a broken leg.
Source:
"Your son's OK," Marines tell Six Mile family after crash
Greenville SC News 21Jan02 P2
By Anna Simon: Clemson Bureau
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