Hi Shaun,
My name is Marci Brunett. I am so sorry to be emailing you under these circumstances, but I could not pass up the chance to tell you and your family how much I thought of your brother, Christian and his wife, Ruth. First, please accept my heart-felt sympathy and know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers every single day.
I am sure you’ve noticed a common thread in many of the posts – Christian’s selfless devotion to others. In that vein, I would like to share a short story about a time in the recent past that Christian impacted my life in a very real way.
My husband, Chris Brunett, was the Commanding Officer of HSC-25 from May 2006 until early August when we departed Guam for his new duty station in VA. During the last 3+ months of our time in Guam, Chris was deployed with the Air Ambulance detachment in Kuwait. Thus, he was not at home in June and July to help me prepare for our move. Now, after nearly 18 years as a Navy spouse, I have quite a bit of experience with moving, but this was the first move I ever had to do on my own.
In April a few days before Chris departed for Kuwait, the Wardroom got together on a Friday afternoon at the club and gave him a nice little send-off. We had a fun time and the party eventually moved to our house for a few more hours. I remember Christian pulling me aside as he was getting ready to leave that night. He said, “Ma’am, before your movers come to start packing your things I want you to call me. I’ll come over and unhook your computers and your other electronic equipment and pack it all up for you because if you don’t do it right then your stuff is going to get messed up.”
I thanked him and didn’t think much about his offer until a day or so before the movers were scheduled to begin packing. By then, Chris had been gone for about 6 weeks and I was knee-deep in preparing the house for the move, arranging the shipment of our car, coordinating settlement on the new house we were buying in VA and taking care of our two children. At that point and being a fairly non-tech-savvy person, figuring out how to unhook and pack up our two computers, stereo system and three televisions seemed like more than I could handle. So I emailed Christian and asked if his offer was still available, which, of course, it was.
The next afternoon on his way home from work, Christian showed up at my house with zip-lock bags, rubber bands, zip ties, a permanent marker and his usual friendly smile. He proceeded to spend at least three hours carefully unhooking all of our computer components and other electronic equipment. He painstakingly packaged and labeled everything. He also used my digital camera to take pictures of all the model/serial numbers just in case something was damaged in the move and I had to file an insurance claim.
Several weeks later, I had a question about how to back-up some files on another computer before shipping it. The very next day he arrived at my house again. That time he spent several more hours burning CDs of some files I didn’t want to lose if the computer was damaged or lost in the move. I specifically remember that he and Ruth had just returned from their trip back to the States a few days before and that Christian was leaving again the following day for some training in San Diego. I kept trying to kick him out of the house, telling him to go home and spend some time with Ruth before his trip the next day, but he would not leave until all the files were copied and all the CDs were labeled.
I cannot begin to tell you how much he helped me on those two occasions and how much I appreciated it. The computer I am using right now to send you this email was one of the ones he helped me with. It was also the computer I was sitting in front of nearly two weeks ago when I first learned of the mishap at HSC-25 and your brother’s untimely death.
So, I just wanted you to know that I am one more person whose life was touched by Christian’s kindness. Although I didn’t know him particularly well, I will always remember his thoughtfulness and generosity during my last few weeks in Guam. Many thanks to you and Ruth and the rest of your family for sharing Christian with all of us. My hope is that you will all take great comfort in the knowledge that your brother, husband and son touched so many lives in such wonderful and caring ways. I pray that the love he has shown to so many will come back to you and give you peace.
Warmly,
Marci Brunett
My Brother's Helo Goes Down - My brother, LT Christian Hescock is dead.
Sept. 24, 2007, 10:26PM
Navy helicopter crash in Guam kills 1. Three other crew members injured.
Associated Press
HAGATNA, Guam — A U.S. Navy helicopter crashed late Monday during a training mission in Guam, killing one of four people on board, the Navy said.The helicopter from the Sea Combat 25 squadron crashed into the Fena Reservoir on Navy property near Naval Magazine in Santa Rita.
Three members of the crew were rescued and transported to the island territory's Navy hospital. Lt. Donnell Evans, a Navy spokesman, said one crew member had a broken arm while the other two were treated for minor injuries.
The body of the fourth crew member was recovered from the water, Guam Fire Department spokesman Angel Llagas said. The names of the crew members were not released.
The helicopter squadron in Guam is the Navy's only one of its type. Its mission includes resupplying ships and providing 24-hour search and rescue and evacuation services for the U.S. territories of Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Navy identifies crew member who died in Guam helicopter crash
By Vince Little, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition,
The Navy has identified the crewmember killed in Monday night’s helicopter crash on U.S. Naval Base Guam.
Lt. Christian Hescock, 34, died about two hours after the MH-60 Seahawk crashed into Fena Reservoir at about 10:30 p.m., during a training mission, said Lt. Donnell Evans, a Naval Base Guam spokesman.
Hescock, whose position was not released, was pronounced dead en route to the hospital.
Evans said the remaining three crewmembers, all men, were hurt in the crash, including a 27-year-old who suffered a dislocated shoulder. The other two, identified only as being ages 27 and 20, sustained minor injuries.
All were treated at U.S. Naval Hospital Guam. Evans could not confirm Tuesday whether any of the servicemembers had been released.
The helicopter was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25, stationed at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam.
Evans said Tuesday he had no more details on the cause of the crash.
“Right now, we’re still in the recovery and investigative phases,” he said. “The majority of the aircraft is submerged. … Once we’re able to recover the aircraft, we can start the investigation.”
Evans said a memorial service for Hescock may be held in the coming days.
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Sorry I've only just found this site - I'm LCDR Olaf Talbert, I was Chris' onwing at HT18, he and Tommy were my first two onwings. Couldn't have picked two better guys to teach me how to teach people how to fly a helicopter, lot of funny good stories about him and everything he was there in HT's and after...think about him all the time and I'm sorry to everyone for his loss. Can't express my sorrow, but good luck to you buddy, first and best to me always.
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