A man with ties to Leesville died in a helicopter crash at Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan on Sunday, July 19.
John James deMarsche, 23, whose maternal grandparents reside in Leesville, was one of 16 civilians killed onboard a Mi-8 helicopter that crashed near the runway just after takeoff.
The cause of the crash is under investigation according to Paul Davis, senior vice president of Arkel International, the company for which deMarsche worked.
Davis spoke well of DeMarsche, saying he'd been employed at Arkel since 2008.
"John was a beloved and respected team member of Arkel. Empowered by his youth, intellect and goodwill, he conquered many tough situations that would have taxed many men twice his age. He has a proven track record of completing challenging work in both Iraq and Afghanistan and making friends everywhere he went. John will truly be missed by all those whose paths he's crossed," Davis wrote in an email. "The prayers and goodwill of everyone at Arkel go out to John's family and loved ones at this time of deep sorrow and in particular Anne who we all know he loved deeply."
According to his obituary, deMarsche was a construction manager and a civilian contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Reuters reported on Monday that a civilian helicopter under contract for NATO forces in Afghanistan crashed at a military base in the south of the country on Sunday, killing 16 people and wounding five others, the alliance said.
Captain Ruben Hoornveld, a Dutch NATO spokesman at Kandahar Air Field, said there was no enemy involvement in the crash, which took place as the helicopter was taking off from the base, NATO's headquarters in the south of the country.
Russia's Interfax news agency described the helicopter as an Mi-8 transporter, operated by a Russian firm, which had 17 passengers and three crew on board at the time of the crash. It gave the death toll as 15.
The crash was the second by a former-Soviet civilian helicopter in southern Afghanistan in less than a week. Six Ukrainian crew members died aboard a Soviet-built Mi-26 transport helicopter which crashed in Helmand province on Tuesday.
Moldovan authorities said Tuesday's helicopter was shot down while ferrying supplies to a remote British base.
NATO troops in Afghanistan rely heavily on air craft from the former Soviet Union for cargo and transport flights in a country where travel by road is often difficult. The NATO force in Afghanistan has been expanding rapidly this year with the deployment of tens of thousands of additional U.S. troops.
Funeral services were held for deMarsche on Saturday in Denham Springs.
