Frith, Kerry Wayne

Staff Sergeant Kerry Wayne Frith was a 37-year-old soldier from Las Vegas, Nevada. He served in the U.S. Army's elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), known as the "Night Stalkers," which provides helicopter aviation support for special operations forces.

On February 22, 2002, Frith was aboard an MH-47E Chinook helicopter on a counter-terrorism mission in the southern Philippines. The aircraft crashed into the sea near Basilan Island, approximately 560 miles south of Manila. The crash occurred at night during a training exercise in support of Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines. All ten U.S. service members on board, including Frith, were killed.

The mission was part of Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines, a distinct theater of the broader U.S.-led global campaign against terrorism. U.S. forces were deployed to advise and assist the Armed Forces of the Philippines in combating the Abu Sayyaf Group, an Islamist militant organization with ties to al-Qaeda. The operation in the Philippines began in early 2002.

Following the crash, a joint U.S.-Philippine search and recovery operation was launched. The bodies of the ten soldiers were recovered from the wreckage. The U.S. Department of Defense stated the cause of the crash was under investigation, with initial reports citing possible mechanical failure.

Staff Sergeant Frith was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal. He is memorialized on the 160th SOAR(A) Memorial Wall at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The crash remains one of the single largest losses of U.S. life during the campaign in the Philippines.

SSG Frith was killed during Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2014). The conflict concluded in December 2014. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.

Among those documented in the same conflict: Andrews, Evander Earl, Edmunds, Jonn Joseph, Stonesifer, Kristofor Tif, Davis, Bryant Leroy.

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