VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. –
The Virginia Air National Guard’s 203rd Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers Squadron, 192nd Wing, will conduct a memorial ceremony March 3, 2026, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, to recognize the 25th anniversary of a plane crash which claimed the lives of 18 VaANG Airmen and three Florida Army National Guard aviators.
The ceremony is open to invited guests, and is not open to the public. Photos from the 20th anniversary memorial ceremony in 2021 are available at https://vngpao.info/2p8nym32.
Eighteen members of the 203rd lost their lives when the C-23 Sherpa they were flying in crashed in a cotton field near Unadilla, Georgia, March 3, 2001. The 203rd Airmen were returning home after completing a two-week military construction project at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It was the largest loss of life in the Virginia National Guard since World War II.
“On March 3, 2026, we hold our public tradition wherein we gather with family, friends, and the broader community to remember the 18 Airmen and three Soldiers we lost 25 years ago,” said Lt. Col. Carlos R. Nixon, commander of the 203rd RED HORSE. “The tradition in the RED HORSE community is to welcome new members in front of the Squadron by presenting a red hat to symbolize their place in the RED HORSE family. At the 203rd, we add another tradition by giving the new member a dog tag with a missing piece in remembrance of the members we lost on March 3, 2001. This tradition is internal to the squadron and honors our history and those that shaped it.
“A quarter‑century is long enough that some people in the unit today weren’t even born when the crash happened, yet the impact still shapes the identity of the 203rd,” Nixon added.
The 203rd RED HORSE provides a highly-mobile civil engineering response force to support contingency operations worldwide. Read more about the unit at https://vngpao.info/2u9k7xeb.
203rd RED HORSE Airmen lost in the crash:
• Senior Master Sgt. James Beninati of Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Tech. Sgt. Paul Blancato of Norfolk, Virginia
• Master Sgt. Ernest Blawas of Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Tech. Sgt. Andrew H. Bridges of Chesapeake, Virginia
• Senior Master Sgt. Eric Bulman of Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Tech. Sgt. Paul Cramer of Norfolk, Virginia
• Master Sgt. Michael East of Parksley, Virginia
• Tech. Sgt. Ronald Elkin of Norfolk, Virginia
• Tech. Sgt. James Ferguson of Newport News, Virginia
• Tech. Sgt. Randy Johnson of Emporia, Virginia
• Staff Sgt. Mathrew Kidd of Hampton, Virginia
• Senior Master Sgt. Michael Lane of Moyock, North Carolina
• Master Sgt. Edwin Richardson of Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Master Sgt. Dean Shelby of Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Tech. Sgt. John Sincavage of Chesapeake, Virginia
• Tech. Sgt. Gregory Skurupey of Gloucester, Virginia
• Tech. Sgt. Richard Summerell of Franklin, Virginia
• Maj. Frederick Watkins of Virginia Beach, Virginia
Florida Army National Guard Soldiers lost in the crash:
• Chief Warrant Officer 4 Johnny W. Duce of Orange Park, Florida
• Chief Warrant Officer 2 Eric P. Larson of Land-O-Lakes, Florida
• Staff Sgt. Robert F. Ward Jr. of Lakeland, Florida