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Anissa A.
Shero—June 2006 Shipment Honoree
Air Force SSGT, 31, of Grafton, W.V.;
assigned to the 16th Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field,
Fla.; killed in an MC-130H Combat Talon crash on June 12,
2002, in Afghanistan.
West
Virginia Airman to be Buried at Arlington
Source:
arlingtoncemetary.net
A West
Virginia native killed in a military plane crash in
Afghanistan
will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, her family
says.
The bodies
of Staff Sergeant Anissa Ann Shero and two other Americans
were flown to a U.S. base in Germany, where they were received
Monday with military honors. The three were to arrive at Dover
Air Force Base in Delaware.
Shero, who
was stationed in Florida
with her husband, will not be returned to her hometown of
Grafton, said her grandmother, Edith Kenney.
A public
memorial service is scheduled for June 28 at the Mother’s Day
Shrine in Grafton. Taylor
County
veterans groups are planning the event. “This is to show our
appreciation for the sacrifice she gave for our freedom,” said
Tootsie Robinson, commander of Disabled Veterans of Taylor
County.
Shero, 31, and Technical Sergeant
Sean M. Corlew,
37, of
Thousand
Oaks,
California,
were members of the 16th Special Operations squadron that was
serving as crew of the MC-130H when it crashed last week. Also
killed was Army Green Beret Sergeant First Class Peter P. Tycz
II, 32, of Tonawanda, New
York.
The plane,
a version of the C-130 cargo plane outfitted for special
forces missions, crashed and caught fire after taking off from
an airstrip in southeast Afghanistan. Seven others on board
survived. The crew was picking up three Special Forces members
from the airstrip south of the town of Gardez.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Last fall,
Anissa Shuttleworth married Nathan Shero, also a special
forces airman, and changed her name. The couple were based at
Hurlburt Field and had recently bought a home in Navarre,
Florida.
Anissa
Shero, who enlisted in 1992, was the first Air Force woman to
die in Afghanistan, and the second West Virginian killed there
since the military campaign began.
“When she
called me a few days before she left, she said, ‘Well, I’m
going again.’ But she couldn’t say where,” Kenney said Sunday.
“I told her to please write me a postcard or anything, just to
say hello or goodbye. And she did. She was a thoughtful child.
It’s going to be very lonesome,” she said. “I think back at
the times I’ve treasured and what was and is now, and I guess,
what is to be. She would just laugh. I can see her laughing
now.
Statement
of Senator John D. Rockefeller IV on the Senate Floor
On the Death of Staff Sgt. Anissa A. Shero in
Afghanistan
June 14, 2002
Mr.
ROCKEFELLER: Mr. President, for many generations, the people
of West Virginia have distinguished themselves by their
willingness to serve their country in the armed forces. West
Virginians understand the cost of freedom and have always been
willing to pay it when called. Today, we are reminded again
just how great that cost can be, as we mourn the loss of Air
Force Staff Sgt. Anissa A. Shero, of Grafton,
West Virginia,
who died in a tragic airplane crash near the town of Gardez,
Afghanistan.
Sgt. Shero
was a volunteer, who chose to serve her country in the face of
grave danger. When terrorists struck, she left behind the
mountains of West Virginia for the mountains of Afghanistan—to
risk her life so that we might live ours in freedom and
safety. She was part of an extraordinarily successful effort
to crush the Taliban, disrupt and demoralize al-Qaeda, and
free the people of
Afghanistan
from two decades of war and despotism. Men and women in both
nations are safer now because of her work, and all of us who
value freedom owe Sgt. Shero a profound debt of gratitude and
honor. I know that the thoughts and prayers of many people
are, like mine, with her family and her friends.
Like the
two service members who died with her, and the 37 others
killed in Afghanistan during this war, including West
Virginian Sgt. Gene Vance, Jr., Sgt. Shero bravely did her
duty as an American. Now, let us pledge to do ours in her
honor. Let us remember always, including on the floor of this
Senate chamber, that wars are about people, and freedom, and
lives. Let us make certain that our armed forces have the
tools they need to meet any foe, any where, any time. And let
us treasure the freedoms we enjoy as Americans and give thanks
for the service members who fight to protect them.
Sgt. Shero
represented the best of West
Virginia
and the best of America. She was strong, courageous, and
dedicated. She will forever serve as a role model for West
Virginians, men and women alike, who love their country and
who, like her, know our ideals are worth fighting for.
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