Pictures of Christians Memorial Service

Q MadP took pictures of the memorial service held for Christian on October 7, 2007. You can find a link to the pictures here!

Family Pics

Picture of my grandfather Robert "Bob" Ganjian with my brother.







CJ, Critter, Crit, the "frog" are different names we used to call Christian. I still called him "Crit" just not in front of people he knew or worked with. I think I did it once down at North Island and his eyes got really big and he snarled and said, "DUDE! Not here!!" I could have made a fortune with that knowledge on the Essex. Here's a pic of us when we were growing up 70's style.

Service Pictures

I think the first picture is a pic aboard the USS Essex, but I'm not sure. I'm sure Fletcher knows.






The second pic is Christian doing what he did best...keeping the bench warm.

Jonathan Kline

Shaun,
I saw awhile back that you had lost the pictures that folks had sent you. I received this in the mail from someone last week and thought you would want it.

I think of Christian almost every day. It is hard to imagine that a year has gone by already. I am glad that I had the opportunity to know him, and I have tried to remember his infectious optimism when the everyday things are getting me down. I can't bring him back, but I keep him alive in how I live and how I look at the world. I hope that you and your family are doing well, and that you know that Christian lived with purpose and made an impact on all of our lives.

My prayers are with you daily.

Jon Kline

AW2(AW/NAC) Angel M. Gracia, US Navy - HSC 25

Mr. Hescock,

I apologize for the tardiness of this email. From the first day I met your brother, I knew he was a man that was very respected just for his genuine character and caring heart. I deployed with him on the USNS Shasta and the USNS Mercy. He tried to sway me to go STA-21, but I never thought I would make it b/c I measured myself against your brother. I have finally decided to give it a try. God willing, I will be submitting an application for next year's board. I always wondered how a great person came to be. I was able see that through the letters of your parents and yourself read during his memorial. You all did a great job in rearing a wonderful person. Your brother is sorely missed. God bless you all. You are in our prayers.

I'll go through my hard drive and continue to send more pics.

V/R
AW2(AW/NAC) Angel M. Gracia
Training PO
CBR Program Manager
HSC-25 Island KnightsAndersen AFB, Guam

Diving Pictures of Christian and Ruth

Heather & Brian Edwards, US Navy VP-9

Dear Shaun,
I am so sorry to hear what has happened. Our hearts are deeply saddened with the devastating news. My husband and I were very good friends with both Christian and Ruth. We all attended the University of San Diego together, and then my husband and Christian attended OSC flight school together in Pensacola, FL, and Corpus Christi, TX. We became closest to Christian and Ruth when we had the chance to live next door to each other while in Corpus Christi, TX. Following flight school, my husband chose to become a P-3 pilot while Christian became a helicopter pilot. We were sent to Hawaii (and are currently stationed in Hawaii at Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, VP-9) while Christian and Ruth were sent to Guam. I guess it was then that we are sorry to say that we sort of lost touch. We have never forgotten them and always hoped to be stationed near each other again. We had so many good times that we shared while being neighbors. Some of my favorite memories are the ruthless Uno games we'd all play together on many weekend nights, making fools of ourselves playing numerous Cranium games, sharing a meal together at Sonic, going to the scariest "Texan style" of haunted haunted house (which took place on a tractor) that I've ever experienced in my life, watching Christian and Ruth raise their baby lovebird Lou, and sharing many laughs and good stories, as well as important holiday's together such as Thanksgiving. Ruth & Christian were definitely considered to be family to us and will always be. They were a beautiful couple and Christian was an amazing pilot, friend, and husband. We will miss him greatly. Ruth, we love you and miss you and want you to know that you are always welcome in our home and we are thinking about you. We wish there was some way that we could comfort you. We will continue to pray for you all.

God bless you all,

Heather and Brian Edwards

AN Charles Beatty, Guam, HSC-25 US Navy

Shaun,
Hi, my name is AN Beatty. I would like to say how sorry I feel for your significant loss and your family is in my prayers. I deployed with LT Hescock on the Shasta, Mercy, and the Flint. There are no words to express how I feel right now. Your brother was an admirable individual on and off duty and was always willing to lend a hand to anyone in need. As our division officer he put his people first and always made it his priority to cater to their problems. Also, his sense of humor was priceless. Mr. Hescock was by far the most knowledgeable person I have ever met. I was proud to call him sir, and I did on a daily basis.
I would like to share a story with you that showed how courteous and important your brother was to me. Just about a month ago I got in some trouble and was going to get separated from the military. LT. Hescock was there for me and guided me through this rough time in my career. He advised me that I should write a letter with my deepest apologies and ask for forgiveness. I agreed and had three days to draft up this letter. After finishing the letter, I showed him, and he said it could use a little bit of work. He then proceeded to take it home on his off time and add some of his past experiences with me to this letter. I got the revised letter back from him and was just ecstatic. Mr. Hescock spent hours upon hours on his liberty time to help me and I could not thank him enough. I thanked him over and over again. Then I asked him how I could repay him, and he said; "Beatty, you know I work for cigarettes". This says how LT. Hescock was an above-and-beyond type of person and will be tremendously missed to say the least.
I also have some pictures I will send later from the deployments your family may enjoy.

Sincerely,
Charles Beatty, HSC-25, USN

LT Tara Collins, Ships Nurse, US Navy

Shaun,

I just learned this morning of Christian’s accident. I was stationed on the USNS Mercy last year on the humanitarian assistance mission with the HS-25 crew. I was a nurse on board and there were multiple times that they were needed on a professional basis. The entire crew is truly like a band of brothers. In reading LCDR Nolan’s story about Simuleue it brought back a lot of memories and every word was absolutely true. I remember hearing that story from Christian and the boys and it was truly a highlight for a lot of us there.

Christian to me is definitely a true patriot and hero. He was always professional and talked very highly of everyone in his family. I can think of a few stories now that we swapped regarding brothers and childhood that bring a smile to my face. A real friend…I joked with him when the boys were flying off that I would see him again on a medevac in the middle of the desert from out of nowhere. My heart is with your family and with his wife Ruth. He was ever the professional and a really good person with a huge heart. I can’t forget that he was also a card shark when it came to spades. I will miss him and pray for everyone in their Det…Bruce, Tommy and Andre…my prayers are with you guys.

Tara

LT Collins, Tara
SHIPS NURSE
USS NIMITZ (CVN- 68)

Jennifer Gaugler - Navy Wife

Your brother:

Shaun,

I arrived on Guam less than 2 months ago and never met your brother. However, my husband Ted was one of Christain's flight instructors at Whiting and knew him well. Ted rarely talked about his students, but he did talk often about Christian.
Christian was an absolute joy to fly with then and Ted was so looking forward to flying with him again in HSC-25 when he returns from deployment. I am so sorry that he never had the chance. Before attending the memorial service for Christian today, I took some pictures of the base flags at half staff. I thought you would like to see them flying that way in honor of your brother.

Bless you and your family and bless Ruth.

Jennifer Gaugler

LCDR Bruce Nolan, HSC-25 US Navy

Christian remembered:

Shaun,

I've been sitting here staring at this message now for a while. I keep writing, then deleting, the opening lines. I don't know what to say. I don't know words enough to say. I've been trying to do everything I can for Ruth. I also want to be able to do anything I can for you and the rest of your family. I do this because I know that Christian would have done the same for any of us.

Today was the memorial service. I heard your letter read and thank you for mentioning me. But you have to know, that I did this not because anyone told me to. I asked to be there when Ruth was notified. I wanted it to come from someone who knew him well. When I talked to your mother on the phone, it was so hard to tell her. I wanted to look you and your mother in the eye and tell you both that Christian was in an accident. I hated that I had to do it over the phone like that. But, unfortunately 7,000 miles of ocean separate us. I sincerely hope that one day, I can shake your hand and tell you what a great brother you had. I want to tell your mother I am so sorry. I want to tell your father how much Christian respected him. Christian used to tell me stories of sitting in coffee shops on his webcam and helping your father out with his computer problems. I know you all miss him, but you also have to know what a great man he was and how many people he moved.

It will be your choice whether to post the above message to you on the site. Please post the below story though:

There are a lot of great pictures of Christian on the site. However, the one that seems to be everyone's favorite is the close up of Christian holding the small boy in front of the helicopter. It was one of the first one's posted on your memorial blog. It appeared on every website with the news. We had it framed for the memorial service. I thought you should know the story behind it and see some other pictures of the same time.

We were on DET 2 on the USNS MERCY mission. It was a humanitarian mission to bring free medical care, medical education, and training to the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and East Timor. The picture was taken during a mission in Simeulue, Indonesia off the coast of Sumatra near Banda Ache. It was hit by the Tsunami a couple of years before and we were trying to do what we could to help the area improve conditions. We had a difficult flight schedule and could not really work it out. So we decided to bring the helicopter into the landing zone and shut down to let the other helicopter continue with the other operations. Someone told me that it might be fun because we were going to a school and the children could get to see a helicopter and meet the people that fly it. Christian immediately volunteered. When we got to the zone and shut down, the children were hesitant to come over. Christian and the other aircrewmen stood next to the helicopter and invited a couple of the kids over. Then more came over. Then more, and more, and more. Pretty soon we were all laughing and showing the kids around. They were shaking our hand and putting our hand to their forehead, which I was told was a great sign of respect. They loved to get their pictures taken and then look at them on the digital cameras, even though we were could not print out any pictures for them. The adults showed appreciation with a lunch and coconut milk drinks. (One of the other pictures that I sent earlier with Christian sitting outside with a coconut drink in front of him.) That was one of my best experiences from the deployment and Christian was there. He connected with the kids, made them feel comfortable, made them laugh... It was like he was their best friend. And not one of them spoke English. That was the kind of person Christian was. It didn't matter what he said. It was his spirit that made him who he was. But I am sure that you know that. There are so many posts from people that were inspired by Christian. I said it before, he was a good man. He was respected by his superiors, his peers, those that worked for him, and those that he just knew. I could tell all kinds of stories of his selflessness, his unending devotion, and his work ethic. But you have read all those already.

Christian, we are going to miss you. But you touched our hearts, our spirits, and our minds. I salute your life. I won't forget. "Det 2 remembers... Always!"

Bruce Nolan

PS. A special thanks to PH1 Latham who took the original picture. I am not sure he knows how much it will be remembered.

Lt. Andre Gomez, HSC-25 US Navy, Pilot

HSC-25:

Shaun,

My name is LT Andre Gomez. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing your brother since flight school in Pensacola. We deployed together on the USNS MERCY and were set to deploy together again next month. We had been flying together quite a bit recently preparing for our upcoming deployment. He was an outstanding pilot and an even better friend and I will miss him immensely. He was always there when you needed him. I remember on Sunday LT Dehner and I were preparing an extensive brief for our flight the next night. Christian was flying with us but not required to help with the brief. He came in anyway to help for several hours AFTER helping LT Kiffer fix his car, then left work to support a beach clean up with Ruth. This is the type of person he was.

Christian had a great sense of humor and kept everyone on their toes. He took over the room when he entered it and was everyone’s best friend. I will miss his smile and witty comments as we passed each other in the hallways at work. I am deeply sorry for your family’s loss. You, Ruth and your family will be in my prayers. I will never forget him.

I have included a picture of Det 2 pilots and taxi drivers in Subic Bay, Philippines.

God Bless,

Andre

Jonathan Kline, Pilot - US Navy

Pictures of your brother and Ruth:



Shaun,



I can't even put into words what I want to say. I've known Christian since 1998 when we cruised together on the USS ESSEX, me as a junior pilot, him as a salty 2nd Class and H-46 Crewchief. I had the pleasure of serving with him again in Guam for 2 years He was a mentor to me when I was a junior pilot, new to the navy, trying to figure things out. The biggest compliment that I can think of is that there are people that you serve with in the Navy, that if you never serve with them again...well, that's okay. Christian was just the opposite. When he was selected for Seaman to Admiral, I hoped that I would serve with him again. When I left Guam, just last month, I got to have a long talk with him about life, the Navy and whatever came up. I left there with the same sense of hope that we would serve together again. He was that good as a person, as an Officer, and as a leader. He made a difference in people's lives.

I do have a story for you, and I will get it to you this weekend. It is the story of Christian that I remember most.


I have attached a couple of pictures for you as well. Can you please make sure that they get to Ruth also?



Jon Kline

* USS Essex - Number 2 on the hull, but second to none!