On the night of Feb. 18, they trudged through 8 and 9 feet deep snow drifts up the side of a mountain in Pocahontas County to rescue the 17 crew members whose Seahawk helicopter had crashed near Bald Knob. On Wednesday, the group of local volunteers and National Guardsmen were honored by the U.S. Navy during a ceremony at Orchard Hall in Elkins for their heroic efforts in what military personnel described as "Miracle on the Mountain."
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jason Stump was in charge of the "Southbound Trooper" training exercise. At about 1:30 p.m. on the day of the crash, he had not heard from the crew. But as a self-described "internal optimist," Stump believed the crew had to stop to get fuel. He said that about an hour later he contacted Camp Dawson, the helicopter's destination, and they had not received word from the crew.
At that point, Stump said he believed the crew may have hit bad weather conditions and were returning to Fort Pickett; but then was told he had a "bird down." He immediately put into motion the process to begin the search and rescue efforts.
"I didn't find out everyone was stable until late the next night," he said. "I was worried all night about getting my guys off the mountain."
It was those efforts that were lauded on Wednesday.
"This is our opportunity to say 'thanks,'" U.S. Navy Public Affairs Officer Lt. Cmdr. Philip Rosi said. "These folks came out with little notification and worked through the adverse weather. They are the real heroes."
Navy Cmdr. Heath Howell, the commanding officer of HSC-26 which includes the Seahawk crew, spoke to the search and rescue volunteers at the ceremony.
"I have a lot of local heroes today," he said. "It was our helicopter that ended up on the side of the mountain that started a chain of events that uncovered a lot of local heroes."
Howell invited the pilot of the helicopter, Lt. Matt McClure, to lead the group in the pledge of allegiance.
"It's good to see this guy and you made it possible," Howell said following the pledge.
He told the crowd the crew was participating in a training exercise dubbed "Southbound Trooper." The exercise was to allow the crew to practice tactics for real world events. He said two of the 17-man crew, including the co-pilot who suffered a broken leg and hip, are still in the hospital. The other crew member is recovering from a broken pelvis.
"Because of you all, the 17 on the flight will be able to continue the job they love," Howell said. "None of them suffered any injuries from exposure."
"I am truly humbled to be around this many true heroes in one room," U.S. Navy Capt. Steven Schreiber, the wing commander over HSC-26, said. "We are here specifically to thank all of you."
Schreiber listed the several agencies that helped with the rescue including: the West Virginia National Guard, West Virginia Civil Air Patrol, West Virginia Division of Homeland Security, Pocahontas and Randolph County Emergency Services, West Virginia State Police, Davis Memorial Hospital, Green Bank Observatory, Snowshoe Mountain Resort, Coast Guard, Greenbrier Regional Airport and the Elkins-Randolph County Regional Airport.
The Navy personnel then presented all the people involved in the search and rescue with plaques that featured the image of a Seahawk inscribed with "Miracle on the Mountain," a certificate with a picture of a helicopter signed by the crew and a "courage coin."
"It was a survival story that I think one day a book will be written about," Schreiber said.
Adjutant General for the West Virginia National Guard, Major General Allen Tackett described the search and rescue as "truly remarkable." "I want to thank everybody that was involved in this event," Tackett said. "Everything that took place that night was a miraculous event. Someday you will watch this on television as a movie."
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. David Anderson, a former Blue Angel and the vice commander of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command, also briefly spoke with the crowd and praised the work of the first responders.
