Public Invited to Honor Local Soldier Killed in Deadliest Incident of Afghan War

There will be a Hero Mission held in Los Alamitos today to honor the memory of Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Harvell, the 26-year-old Long Beach man killed in Afghanistan last month in the United States’ single deadliest day of the decade-long war.

His coffin will be flown into the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base airfield at 2 p.m. where it will be met by waiting family members, a color guard, soldiers and members of the community, who are requested to come show their support.

A Hero Mission is a ceremony honoring a fallen soldier as his or her coffin arrives home. With permission from the family, Hero Missions are open to the public to give the community an opportunity to pay their respects to the men and women who sacrifice their lives for the country. Harvell is the third soldier to be honored in a Los Alamitos Hero Mission this year.

Harvell was among the 30 U.S. military personnel killed Aug. 6 in the crash of a helicopter in Afghanistan. He was one of three airmen who died in Wardak province when the aircraft was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Taliban forces. The airmen were with the 24th Special Tactics Squadron based in Pope Field, N.C. Twenty Navy Seals and Eight Afghan soldiers also died in the crash.

In August, the flag was flown at half mast at Long Beach city facilities in Harvell's memory.

“My deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of Staff Sergeant Andrew W. Harvell," Long Beach Mayor BobFoster said in a statement. "On behalf of the City of Long Beach, we are sending our thoughts and prayers to them during this time of great sadness.”

Shortly after the helicopter crash, Gen. John Allen announced that coalition forces had killed the Taliban members responsible for shooting down the helicopter in Wardak. A separate NATO statement said that an airstrike Tuesday killed Taliban leader Mullah Mohibullah and the insurgent who "fired the shot associated with" the destruction of the helicopter.  

In addition to the Hero Mission, the Harvell family invites friends and community to attend memorial services on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Forest Lawn-Long Beach, located at 1500 East San Antonio Drive Long Beach and the internment at Los Angeles National Cemetery, located at 950 S Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles.

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