VALLEY PILOT DIES IN CRASH OFF SAN DIEGO.Byline: BRAD A. GREENBERG Staff Writer Laura Berwager was the gregarious gre·gar·i·ous adj. 1. Seeking and enjoying the company of others; sociable. See Synonyms at social. 2. Tending to move in or form a group with others of the same kind: gregarious bird species. West Hills kid who spent 13 years in Girl Scouts Girl Scouts, recreational and service organization founded (1912) in Savannah, Ga., by Mrs. Juliette Gordon Low (1860–1927). It was originally modeled after the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, organizations created in Great Britain by Sir Robert Baden-Powell during and helped start the Boeing Explorers Rocket Group en route to joining the Navy. Voted Miss Popularity at Canoga Park High School Canoga Park High School is a public school located in Canoga Park in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California, USA, within the Los Angeles Unified School District. It is located right across the street from the Topanga Plaza shopping center. , Berwager lived for her friends and family, for Jesus and for her dream of flying. She turned 26 on Jan. 22, the day she shipped out for helicopter training at Naval Base Coronado Naval Base Coronado (NBC) is a consolidated Navy installation compassing seven military facilities stretching from San Clemente Island, located seventy miles west of San Diego, to the La Posta Mountain Warfare Training Facility, located sixty miles east of San Diego. in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , the city where she'd spent most of the past six years since enrolling at the University of San Diego. She was young and married -- finally a pilot. In two months, she would head to the Middle East to assist in the American military effort in Iraq, where there are so many who need the servant's heart her family said she had. But Friday night brought an unsettling un·set·tle v. un·set·tled, un·set·tling, un·set·tles v.tr. 1. To displace from a settled condition; disrupt. 2. To make uneasy; disturb. v.intr. phone call to her parents' West Hills home. ``We're looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. Laura,'' her commanding officer said. Navy Lt. j.g. Laura J. Mankey had gone down with three other sailors during a routine training flight near San Clemente Island San Clemente Island An island of southern California in the Santa Barbara Islands south of Santa Catalina Island. . On Saturday, the Berwagers learned the Navy's mission had gone from rescue to recovery when two naval officers and a chaplain from Port Hueneme Port Hueneme (wī'nē`mē), city (1990 pop. 20,319), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Pacific coast; founded 1870, inc. 1948. It has an artificial deep-sea harbor and is the site of a huge naval construction-battalion (Seabee) center. visited the parents' home. ``We're changing her status to deceased,'' Lillian Berwager recalled being told by Navy officials. It was unclear who was flying the Knighthawk, Mankey's family said. The Navy is investigating what went wrong. All are presumed dead, and only Petty Officer 2nd Class
Petty Officer 2nd Class or PO2 is a Naval non-commissioned member rank of the Canadian Forces. Christopher M. Will's body was recovered. ``We hope she is still floating in the Pacific,'' said her father, Leonard. ``That is our only hope.'' On Tuesday, her parents -- Lillian wearing a shirt and Leonard a hat printed with the American flag and ``One Nation Under God'' -- two brothers, three sisters, in-laws and nieces and nephews crammed into Jennifer Berwager's Reseda home to share stories of Laura, to ensure that her beauty wasn't forgotten. ``She was very strong and very smart. She had this magical energy around her,'' said older sister Gina Gerber, who has been bombarded by ``thousands and thousands and thousands of phone calls.'' Laura's husband, Navy Lt. Jeff Mankey, remained in San Diego, where the Berwagers will join him for Laura's funeral Friday. ``Laura, baby, you have to come back to me, baby, I can't make it without you, without hearing your voice,'' Mankey, who was stationed in Silverdale, Wash., wrote on his wife's MySpace.com Web page. ``Three more weeks, baby, until I'll be transferred, we can finally live together baby, just come back please there's so many things I need you to tell me and that I need to tell you.'' Administrators at Canoga Park High School, who proudly remember their prom princess, are confirming details for a local service. ``We know that Laura knew Jesus as her personal savior,'' her father said. When he paused, his wife interjected. ``And she is with him now.'' brad.greenberg(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3634 CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Leonard Berwager holds a photo of his daughter, Laura Mankey, a Navy pilot who was killed in a helicopter training exercise. (2) Donna Berwager weeps at a news conference on the presumed death of her sister, Navy pilot Laura Mankey. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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