 | » Tips for Teachers |  |
April 3, 2003
ERAU suffers 3rd casualty from war
News-Journal Staff Report
DAYTONA BEACH — A U.S. Marine who graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Prescott, Ariz., campus in 1994 died Sunday in a helicopter crash in southern Iraq.
The death of Marine Capt. Aaron J. Contreras, 31, was the third war-related loss for the university.
Contreras, a married father of three, was killed when his UH-1N Huey helicopter went down on takeoff from a supply and refueling point, said Dan Carrell, chancellor of ERAU's Prescott campus. Two other members of the crew were also killed, and a fourth Marine was injured.
Contreras, who earned a degree in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle, was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
The university lowered flags on campus to half-staff last week after receiving word that two students – both at extended campus sites at military bases – had died in war-related helicopter crashes.