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AW3 Kelly "Ichabod" Eugene Aldritt
HSL-37 SH-2F
BUNO: Unknown
Born: August 14, 1968
Died: March 21, 1993
Hometown: Unknown |
Died transiting the Straits of Hormuz. Kelly is buried at the Ft Snelling National Cemetary, S. Minneapolis, MN Section MB, Site 23.
Shipmates comments:
AW2 (Civ.) David "Bull" Westfall:
Kelly Aldritt was a great AW. Smart, funny, a true team player. He was my junior crewman on many short cruises before we left for our WestPac. Kelly was a short timer. He didn't have to make the cruise. He was already registered to attend college in the fall. I was assigned a new junior crewman. Being the kind of guy he was, when one of the crewmen from another detachment got injured and couldn't make the cruise, Kelly extended his enlistment and volunteered. I was deployed with Det 5 on the USS Chosin heading for Somalia when Kelly's helo went down in the Straits. I had just seen his helo flying around our ship days before. March 21st is a day I will never forget. I lost 3 good friends that night. Guys I had cruised with, partied with, flown with, shared life with in a way you can only in a shaking, oil and hydraulic fluid leaking SH-2F flying day and night missions in the middle of the ocean with nothing else to do but talk. It has been 14 years since I lost my fellow crewman, shipmate, friend. Don't ever think you will be forgotten Kelly. You live on in my heart. May the wind under your wings be forever lifting.
AWC Charles Stotz:
I was at HSL-37 when AW3 Aldritt died in 1993.
I went through SAR School, "A" School, and HSL-31 RAG with Kelly and we meet
up again in HSL-37. The SH-2F that they were flying had been airborne
for a little over 10 minutes after doing a crew swap upon completion of an
FCF. AW3 Aldritt was not the scheduled crewman to fly that night, however
being a shipmate and good friend he volunteered to take the flight from the
other crewman who was not feeling well enough to fly. This was to be his
last deployment and then he was going to get out and go back to college.
Kelly was the type of individual who always had a big smile on his face and
never complained about having to work hard.
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