Jared Landaker
We will never forget...

From: http://militarytimes.com/honor/2552631.html

Marine 1st Lt. Jared M. Landaker

25, of Big Bear City, Calif.; assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Feb. 7, 2007, when the helicopter he was flying in crashed while supporting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq. Also killed were Capt. Jennifer J. Harris, Travis D. Pfister, Cpl. Thomas E. Saba, Sgt. James R. Tijerina, Navy Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Gilbert Minjares Jr. and Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Manuel A. Ruiz.

 

Scroll down for Associated Press article.

Marine helicopter pilot from Big Bear City dies in Iraq

The Associated Press

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — First Lt. Jared M. Landaker was working toward a physics degree at the University of La Verne when the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks led him to join the Marine Corps.

The 25-year-old Big Bear High School graduate completed flight school near the top of his class, meaning he could have flown any aircraft he wanted. Rather than fly jets, he chose helicopters.

Landaker was killed Feb. 14 when a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter was hit by insurgents and crashed in Iraq’s Anbar province, killing all seven aboard.

“What he was doing everyday was waiting for a buzzer to go off to go save a Marine’s life. He ended up dying doing that,” said longtime friend 1st Lt. Matt Jackson, 27, of Orange who flies helicopters for the Army.

Landaker was assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, at Camp Pendleton.

On Monday, Landaker was buried at Riverside National Cemetery, where his coffin was carried past dozens of California Highway Patrol officers, fellow Marines and others. Landaker’s father is a retired CHP officer and former Marine.

At a reception afterward in downtown Riverside, friends and family shared memories of Landaker.

Despite his early desire to fly jets, there was just something about CH-46 pilots that drew him into flying the aging twin-rotor helicopters, those who knew him said. Those are the pilots who make sure Marines get back from battle.

“He was not only a hero, he was a great son,” his father Joseph Landaker said. “This guy did more in 25 years than most of us will do in 75 years.”