One of 9 service members killed when amphibious vehicle sank has ties to Bellingham
The U.S. Marine Corps has identified all nine service members killed when a Marine landing craft sank in hundreds of feet of water off the Southern California coast, and one of them has ties to Bellingham.
One of the Marines who died, 21-year-old Pfc. Jack Ryan Ostrovsky of Bend, Oregon, lived in Bellingham before moving to Bend in June 2018 to study at Central Oregon Community College, according to stories published by Bend TV station KTVZ and the Bend Bulletin.
Both KTVZ and the Bulletin referenced a Facebook page for Ostrovsky that said he graduated from Sehome High School in 2018.
Ostrovsky was one of 16 aboard an amphibious assault vehicle that was heading back to a Navy ship Thursday evening after a routine training exercise when it began taking on water about a half-mile (0.8 kilometers) from Navy-owned San Clemente Island, off San Diego, according to a U.S. Marine Corps Facebook post.
Other assault vehicles quickly responded but couldn’t stop the 26-ton, tank-like vehicle from quickly sinking.
Only one of the nine bodies has been found, despite an intense days-long search involving helicopters and boats ranging from inflatables to a Navy destroyer, according to a story by the Associated Press.
“Literally every asset we have available” was mobilized in the search for seven Marines and a Navy corpsman, Lt. Gen. Joseph Osterman, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said Friday.
Found at the scene was Lance Cpl. Guillermo S. Perez, 20, of New Braunfels Texas. The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit announced on Sunday that the others, from California, Texas, Wisconsin and Oregon, are “presumed dead.”
On Monday, the names of the others were released in a in the Marine Corps post.
In addition to Ostrovsky, they include: Pfc. Bryan J. Baltierra, 19, of Corona, California; Lance Cpl. Marco A. Barranco, 21, of Montebello, California; Pfc. Evan A. Bath, 19, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin; U.S. Navy Hospitalman Christopher Gnem, 22, of Stockton, California; Cpl. Wesley A. Rodd, 23, of Harris, Texas; Lance Cpl. Chase D. Sweetwood, 19, of Portland, Oregon; and Cpl. Cesar A. Villanueva, 21, of Riverside, California.
Seven other Marines were rescued from the water; two were in stable condition at a hospital, authorities said.
The incident is under investigation, according to the Marine Corps post.
Citing a biography provided Monday by the Marine Corps, KTVZ reported that Ostrovsky reported in June 2019 to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, before he reported in September to the School of Infantry, Camp Pendleton, where he was trained as a rifleman.
On Nov. 14, Ostrovsky reported to 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton. During his service, Ostrovsky was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
This story was originally published August 3, 2020 at 6:20 PM.
