Kristensen, Erik Samsel
Male
Verified U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Erik Samsel Kristensen, 33, of San Diego, California, was killed in a helicopter crash during a combat search and rescue mission in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, on June 28, 2005.
Their Story
Erik Samsel Kristensen was a U.S. Navy officer and member of SEAL Team 10, based in Norfolk, Virginia. A 1995 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he later earned a master's degree before completing the rigorous Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training. He was serving as a task unit commander in Afghanistan at the time of his death.
On June 28, 2005, Kristensen was part of a quick reaction force dispatched to reinforce a four-man SEAL reconnaissance team ambushed in the mountains near Asadabad in Kunar Province. The MH-47 Chinook helicopter carrying the rescue team, call sign Turbine 33, was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade while attempting to land in a steep, wooded ravine. The aircraft crashed, killing all 16 personnel on board, including eight SEALs and eight Army Night Stalkers from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.
The mission, known as Operation Red Wings, occurred during a period of intensified insurgent activity in eastern Afghanistan. By 2005, Taliban and allied forces had regrouped, employing ambushes and complex attacks in remote, mountainous regions. The loss of the helicopter and the earlier ambush of the reconnaissance team made it one of the deadliest single days for U.S. special operations forces in the Afghanistan war to that date.
The incident received significant media coverage in the United States. A memorial service was held at the Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek in Virginia. The story of the operation was later detailed in the book 'Lone Survivor' by Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of the initial reconnaissance team, and in subsequent film adaptations.
Kristensen's name is inscribed on the Navy SEAL Memorial at the Museum of the Albemarle in North Carolina and on a memorial at the Naval Special Warfare Command. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star with Valor and the Purple Heart.
Explore Further
LCDR Kristensen 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.
