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Sunday, August 13, 2000

After the tears, family, friends recall victims
Helicopter crew remembered as popular, dedicated fliers
By Deborah Mart¡nez
Caller-Times

Edward R. Fassnacht

The hurt was raw.
   The pain was spoken through tears.
   But slowly, those who lost sons, brothers, husbands, nephews and friends in Thursday's crash of a Navy helicopter in the Gulf of Mexico started to speak.
   "I'm trying not to accept it, but I know I have to," said Robert Fassnacht, the 67-year-old father of Lt. Edward R. Fassnacht, the 31-year-old co-pilot who was confirmed dead Friday after being lost at sea for one day.

Shawn O. Jacobs

   "He was number one, he was number one, all the way. He was a super, super person. I was very proud of him. They say the Navy makes an officer and a gentleman and that's what he was, all the way."
   Fassnacht, a native of Franklin Township, near Akron, Ohio, and his comrades, pilot Lt. Shawn O. Jacobs, 30, of Jefferson City, Mo.; Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey S. Paschal, 40, of Phoenix; and Petty Officer 2nd Class David E. Rutherford, 27, of Masontown, Pa., died after they dispatched a radio transmission Thursday morning saying the MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter that they were training in was having mechanical difficulties.

Jeffrey S. Paschal

   Not even 15 minutes later a helicopter flying nearby as part of the training mission spotted the wreckage in the Gulf's waters, about three miles off Padre Island National Seashore. Jacobs' and Paschal's bodies were found within hours, and Navy officials said Fassnacht and Rutherford were recovered Friday, in 55 feet of water, near the helicopter's fuselage, engine, tail wing and fuel tank.
   Two other crewmen, Petty Officer 3rd Class Jeremy J. Yaklin, 19, of Lapeer, Mich., and Airman Adan Shawn R. Palyo, 20, of Stratford, Conn., have been in stable condition at Christus Spohn Hospital Memorial since Thursday. They were found wearing their life jackets soon after the crash.

David E. Rutherford

   The crew was assigned to Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15 at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi.
   Investigators from the Navy's investigation and safety boards are in Corpus Christi, but it won't be until at least next week that the wreckage will be salvaged.
   By then, though, officials say they will have taken preliminary statements from the survivors and begun other parts of their investigation. Officials said Friday they didn't know how long the investigation would take.
   Grieving, though, has already begun.
   Lt. Shawn O. Jacobs
   "His motto in life was he would never live past 40 and he would die at sea," said Shirley Choate, Jacobs' mother back home in Missouri. "To the family it was a big joke, but it was almost like he knew from the beginning that's what would happen . . . flying was always something he wanted to do. He was military 100 percent."
   Jacobs had lived in Ingleside since February 1998. He and his wife, Amy Bridges Jacobs, were married last year.

Contributed photo

Lt. Shawn O. Jacobs, 30, trained dolphins for the Navy and trained German shepherds as a hobby. He was from Jefferson City, Mo., and had lived in Ingleside since February 1998.

   "I can't condense him into a short statement,'' Amy Jacobs said. "He has so many wonderful qualities.
   "He was my husband. There's no way to express it. He was my husband and I loved him very much."
   She said her husband loved to fly.
   "There is an acknowledged risk in flying, but that's who he was,'' she said. "He loved to fly, and he was very good at it."
   While the military was his life, Jacobs also loved animals, his wife said. In the Navy, he trained dolphins to hunt for mines. And he also raised and trained German shepherds.

Correction:
This articles incorrectly reported the first name of a survivor of the Aug. 10 Navy helicopter crash. He is Airman Shawn R. Palyo.

   Jacobs used the delayed enlistment program to enlist in the Navy as a high school junior.
   After graduation from high school, he served on a Navy Dive Team and an explosives ordnance team. In 1991 he was selected for an officer program and entered Auburn University. He graduated with a math degree in 1994.
   He got his wings in 1997.
   He was remembered as a caring and compassionate leader.
   "He basically adopted all of his squadron mates,'' his mother said.
   Lt. Edward R. Fassnacht
   "He was due to fly in Sept. 2 with his family and then return (to Corpus Christi) the 13th," said Mary Ann Fassnacht, thinking about how close she was to seeing her son again. "He had all the tickets and all the plans when we talked Sunday, and he said he couldn't wait. He was all happy. We spoke every Sunday.
   "It's unbelievable that it really happened," Fassnacht's mother said. "You always dream about somebody else and never your own." Fassnacht had just moved to Corpus Christi to Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Florida, on the Fourth of July weekend, his mother said.
   He and his wife, Mary, their children, Anna Marie, 3, and Edward Joseph, 1, moved into their new home two weeks ago.
   Mary Fassnacht and her family expressed their grief in a written statement to the press.
   "Ed was a beloved member of our family, a wonderful husband and father," the statement said. "He had a great love for flying, and a true passion for unselfish service to his country. He spent countless hours dedicated to being the 'best' at his profession, and had the remarkable ability to bring out the 'best' in all of us."
   Fassnacht's mother says her son will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
   Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey S. Paschal
   "We're still numb," said Paschal's sister, Joyce Osborn, who arrived in Corpus Christi from Phoenix on Friday. "Oh, my God. It's unbelievable. A total shock."
   Paschal had been married for more than 19 years to his wife, Pam, and has two daughters, Jennifer, 17, and Kathleen, 10.
   Jennifer will not have her father at her high school graduation next May. On Saturday, his family gathered at Paschal's home, still trying to come to terms with his death. Friends from his squadron sat outside the home, as other friends and co-workers dropped in with flowers and food.
   "He lived for two things," Osborn said, "his job and his girls - his wife and two children. He adored them." The military has always touched Paschal's life. His father, two brothers and a brother-in-law served in different branches of the military. Paschal himself had been in the Navy since he was 27. He was fascinated with flying, Osborn said. "We are a total military family," Osborn said. "As far as Jeff being afraid, no. He knew the risks. We all know and believe he was the best crew chief there was . . . and accidents will happen. We will cry for a long time, but we have to move on."
   Paschal's body will be transported to Phoenix for burial on Friday.
   Petty Officer 2nd Class David E. Rutherford
   "I would like to just pay tribute to a man that I have known for the majority of my life, Petty Officer 2nd Class David E. Rutherford," said his uncle Ron Malinsky, who e-mailed the Caller-Times from Australia. "He is a man that has touched the lives of many. His willingness to help in any situation and his ability to bring a smile to anyone's face has certainly touched the lives of many. To me, he was not only a loved nephew but also a good, good friend."
   Rutherford, known to his friends and family as "Opie," because of his resemblance to the character on the "Andy Griffith Show," was a man who loved to shoot pool, would try anything once and was always looking to put a smile on people's faces.
   He had just bought his first home, here in Corpus Christi. Friend Polly Wibe said he was planning to throw a party for her 5-year-old son, Logan, later this month. Logan has leukemia and because of his illness has to be guarded from the general public. Rutherford, Wibe said, wanted to give Logan and the child's other friends stricken with the disease a pool party at his home, so they could have some fun.
   The Caller-Times' online memorial to the crash victims was filled with messages about Rutherford.
   "Opie was a dear friend that will be missed greatly," said reader Eddie Nelson. "He had a heart the size of Texas and a smile to match. I am a better person just by knowing him. My sympathy goes out to all his friends and family as we grieve the loss of a great man, we will never forget him."
   HM-15 will have its own memorial service for the four men at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi on Thursday.


Staff writer Mary Moreno contributed to this report. Staff writer Deborah Mart¡nez can be reached at 886-3618 or by e-mail at martinezd@caller.com

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