Media invited to cover memorial service for two fallen Airmen

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  • By 040610
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Media members are invited to cover a memorial service for Tech. Sgt. Michael Flores and Senior Airman Benjamin White, which is scheduled for Thursday, June 17, at 10 a.m. in a hangar on the flight line.

The two Airmen, both pararescuemen assigned to D-M's 48th Rescue Squadron, were killed in action last week when their helicopter crashed in Afghanistan. Photos of each Airman are attached.

Out of respect for the families' wishes, no interviews will be conducted on base before, during or after the service. Also, during the service, media members will be restricted to a slightly elevated platform with an angled side view of the stage. Wireless microphones will be allowed on the speaking podium(s), as long as they are put in place well in advance of the service start time.

The service is expected to last for approximately 45 minutes, and an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter fly-by is scheduled to conclude the event. The hangar doors will be closed until the fly-by, so lighting concerns should be minimal throughout the service.

Show time at the Craycroft Gate Visitors' Center parking lot will be 8 a.m. Thursday, June 17. Public affairs escorts will bring all attending media to the hangar and have wireless microphones in place by 8:30; at that point, camera operators should be prepared for about 90 minutes of zero action.

Interested media members should RSVP to the 355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs office, either by calling 228-3406 or by replying to this message.

Also, for possible inclusion in your stories: Both families have requested that anyone desiring to donate money should consider making a donation to the That Others May Live Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides post-secondary education assistance to children whose U.S. Air Force parents or guardians were lost in a personnel recovery mission, training, or other personnel recovery collateral mission. Instructions for donation can be found on the foundation's website, www.thatothersmaylive.org (Tax ID No. 88-0487308).