PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Air Medical Memorial Recognizes 2011 Line of Duty Deaths

National memorial honoring air medical crewmembers lost in the line of duty honors seven crewmembers who lost their lives in three separate accidents in 2011.

Littleton, Colo., June 19, 2012 – The Air Medical Memorial today announced the names of 2012 honorees to be recognized in the groups Remembrance Ceremony at 7:00 AM on Friday, June 22nd at the future site of the Air Medical Memorial and Park in Littleton Colorado.

Memorial honorees lost their lives in the line of duty in 2011, in three separate accidents. These include:

Air Methods LifeNet, Mosby, MO, August 26, 2011
Randall Joe Bever, Flight Nurse,
Christopher Dale Frakes, Flight Paramedic
James Richard Freudenberg, Pilot

Trans North Aviation, Riverwoods, IL, November 28, 2011
William Gerard Didier, Pilot

Mayo Clinic/SK Jets, Palatka, FL, December 26, 2011
Luis Felipe Bonilla, Cardiac Surgeon, Mayo Clinic
David Wayne Hines, Procurement Specialist, Mayo Clinic
Elijah Hoke Smith, Pilot, SK Jets

Speakers include Family Members Connie Didier, wife of William Didier and Christine Hines and Crystal Griner/Hines, daughters of David Hines. Lynthia Andrews, Medical Director, LifeNet, St. Joseph, Mo. and Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) CEO, Rick Sherlock will also speak.

Helicopters from air medical flight programs in the region including Air Link, AirLife Denver, Flight For Life Colorado, North Colorado Med Evac, will be on hand for the ceremony, landing at approximately 6:40 am.

The group is expecting a significant turnout for the service which will be located at 10901 W Toller Dr, Littleton, CO(near the intersection of S. Kipling St. and C-470 southwest of Denver, CO)

The Air Medical Memorial is a national memorial honoring 358 flight crewmembers lost in the line of duty since the inception of emergency medical flight operations in the late 1960s. The group recognizes crewmembers from both helicopter and fixed-wing (airplane) EMS operations.

Contact:

Krista Haugen
Public Information and Communications Officer and Survivors Network Co-founder
Air Medical Memorial
PO Box 842
Castle Rock, CO 80104
720-340-2040
khaugen@survivors-network.org

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