Story last updated at 12:47 a.m. Friday, May 23, 2003

Local Marine dies in Iraq
By JAMIE DUKES
SNS Staff Writer

Aaron Dean White

Shawnee residents Darrell and Karen White will never forget Wednesday, the day three Marines came to their door with information that will forever change their lives.

Their son, Shawnee High School graduate and Marine Staff Sgt. Aaron Dean White, 27, died Monday in a Marine helicopter crash in Iraq, south of Baghdad. He leaves behind his parents, a sister, his wife and a 1-year-old daughter.

Marines told White's family he was one of four on board a CH-46 helicopter on a resupply mission when the chopper went down into the Shat Ahilala River in Iraq. They said the crash was near the Iraqi town of Al Hillah, south of Baghdad.

Darrell White's last conversation with his son was Saturday.

"His daughter was in Texas and he called here to get the phone number of the family she was staying with," Darrell said. "She turned 1 year old Saturday, and he called to talk to her and his wife."

Darrell White holds a book with notes he made when Marines informed him his son, Aaron, died in a helicopter crash Monday in Iraq.

But, White's mother Karen said, he almost didn't get to make that phone call.

"He said he was afraid he wasn't going to be able to make the call that day because he was originally scheduled to fly another resupply mission," she said.

He talked to his wife of five years, Michelle, and daughter, Brianna Nicole, for what would be the last time.

Darrell said he and his wife first received notice of their son's involvement in the crash about 11 p.m. Monday. The incident occurred about 3 p.m. Oklahoma time.

"The Marines came to the door in full attire, their dress blues," Karen said. "That's one thing about the Marines -- they take care of their own."

Karen White recalls memories of her son, Aaron, who died Monday in a military helicopter crash, south of Baghdad.

"They didn't say he was missing; they said his duty whereabouts were unknown," Darrell said. "They came back with a chaplain Wednesday morning and confirmed he was dead. They confirmed his body had been found Wednesday afternoon."

Darrell said he was standing on his front porch Wednesday talking to a co-worker when he saw the Marines drive by.

"There they are," he told his co-worker.

"They were talking on a phone as they circled the block again," he said. "They were talking to the other group of Marines who were going to tell Michelle. They were doing that so we were all told at the exact same time. They didn't want one of us to find out first."

Aaron left for training after he graduated from Shawnee High School in 1994.

A dry-erase board hangs in the kitchen of Darrell and Karen White. Their son, Aaron White, drew the sketches the last time he was home. He died in a military helicopter crash in Iraq Monday.

"He left the week of graduation," Darrell said. "He didn't take a break at all. He enlisted in the delayed entry program and began training sessions on the weekends of his senior year."

"He loved it," his mother said. "We were able to go watch him train on some of the weekends."

Although White graduated from Shawnee High School, he spent the majority of his school career in Sasakwa.

"He spent his last two years at Shawnee," Darrell said. "He enjoyed it here."

White's parents describe him as a "hard worker" and a "people person."

"He never met a stranger," his mother said. "He was always wanting to help. He was a volunteer firefighter in Sasakwa before he could even drive. He would go out on calls with his dad."

Darrell said his son's volunteer efforts continued as he was deployed to Iraq in January.

"He complained, at first, because he wasn't as close to the action as he wanted to be," he said.

"That was fine with me," Karen said with a smile.

"He volunteered to be a gunner on the chopper when he went to Iraq so he could have the opportunity to fly," Darrell said.

Karen said her son loved to fly and drew pictures of planes even as a child.

"He drew pictures of planes on the envelopes he sent to us," Darrell said.

One of Aaron's drawings from the last time he was home still hangs in the Whites' kitchen.

Described as a hard worker and an overall go-getter, White remained close to his family.

"We've always remained in close contact since the very beginning -- even while he was in Japan," Darrell said. "He loved his wife and daughter very much. He told me once that he never knew he could have so much love and so much fun being a daddy."

"He loved life and lived it to the fullest," Karen said.

When Aaron left for Iraq he told his family not to worry.

"He said he was anxious to go," Darrell said. "He said it was something that had to be done."

Aaron was not the only family member serving in the military. His younger sister, Patricia LaBar, was serving in the Army in Germany when the crash occurred. She arrived in Oklahoma Thursday night to be with her family. Her husband also serves in the military.

"He and his sister were very close," Darrell said.

Funeral services for White are pending. His parents said they are waiting for the military to release his body.

"He's in Dover, Delaware, right now," Darrell said.

Although both are proud of their son's service and dedication, they both said the reality that he's gone hasn't really hit them.

"I'm sure it will get me when I see him," Darrell said.

"We know he's gone, but it doesn't seem real yet," Karen said.

Although there were four on board the helicopter, five Marines died as a result of the crash. Two tried to swim from the shore and rescue the downed servicemen. One of those men survived and the other drowned.

"We're trying to get contact information for the man's family who tried to save them," Darrell said. "I would like to talk to his family. Aaron was the only one from Oklahoma involved."

Darrell is employed at the aviation campus of Gordon Cooper Technology Center as a maintenance worker and Karen is a manager of Phillips 66 at Kickapoo and I-40.

Employees at Gordon Cooper are working to establish a college education fund for White's daughter.