BEND, Ore. -- The Department of Defense announced Monday the deaths of four airmen who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in a plane crash in Africa, including a former Bend resident.
The four were killed Saturday when their U-28 aircraft was involved in an accident near Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Africa, officials said. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
1st Lt. Justin J. Wilkens, 26, of Bend, was assigned to the 34th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
A reporter from KTVZ-TV in Bend talked to a friend of Wilkens, who described him as a "fine young man."
"Just [last] Sunday night, he and veterans activist Dick Tobiason had held a spaghetti feed raising funds for 'Honor Flights' to send WWII veterans to the Washington, D.C. memorial in their honor," explained Lyle Hicks.
The other victims were Capt. Ryan P. Hall, 30, of Colorado Springs, Colo; Capt. Nicholas S. Whitlock, 29, of Newnan, Ga., and Senior Airman Julian S. Scholten, 26, of Upper Marlboro, Md.
