Rites Today for Copter Victims; Father of One Vents His Anger

A memorial service for the five Marines who died last week when their helicopter crashed and burned on the desert floor will be held today at the Marine Corps Air Station Theater in Tustin.

Staff Sgt. Vicki Turney, a Marine Corps spokeswoman, said the service is expected to last half an hour. A private reception for relatives of the victims will follow.

Marine Corps officials have not commented on the cause of Thursday night’s crash at the Salton Sea Test Range in the Imperial Valley. A military investigation, they have said, could take from six months to a year.

Crashed in Desert

The crash occurred about 8:30 p.m. when the Tustin-based Super Stallion slammed into the desert and burned on a routine training mission. Killed were the pilot, Maj. David J. Brandenburg, 34, of Mission Viejo, and his crew of four: co-pilot Lt. Michael T. Reilly, 29, of of Laguna Hills and Taunton, Mass., Lance Cpls. Gregory L. Michaels, 19, of Tustin and Frenchville, Pa., Thomas H. Baddeley II, 21, of Tustin and Yardley, Pa., and Cpl. Mark B. Burris, 21, of Tustin and Toronto, Ohio.

Members of the press initially were invited to the service but were told late Tuesday afternoon that they would not be allowed in.

“We want it to be a special time of mourning” for family members, said Maj. Gen. John I. Hudson, adding that the media’s presence could be disruptive.

The accident was the latest in a string of mishaps and fatal crashes over the last two years involving the Marine Corps’ Super Stallion CH-53E. The $16-million aircraft, the largest of U.S. military helicopters, are manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft Co. of Stratford, Conn. Each can haul up to 55 troops.

In a telephone interview from Massachusetts Tuesday, the father of co-pilot Reilly expressed irritation with preliminary reports suggesting that the crash was due to pilot error.

‘We’re Getting Mad’

“Now that the shock is wearing off, we’re getting mad,” George Reilly declared. “I think it’s a goddamned shame that Sikorsky is using the Marine Corps as test pilots for their helicopters.”

The parents of most of the crew members will not be attending today’s service. They said they are making funeral arrangements for their sons, whose remains are expected to be flown to them later this week.

Reilly said his son will be buried in a cemetery near Cape Cod.