AF mourns Guam doctor and B-52 crew members Published July 31, 2008 By Capt. Joel Stark 36th Wing Public Affairs ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam -- In separate memorial services July 25, Andersen Air Force Base and Barksdale Air Force Base, La., mourned the loss of Air Force flight surgeon Col. George Martin and the crew of Raider 21, the B-52 that crashed July 21 off Guam's northwest coast. Doctor Martin was the deputy commander of Andersen's 36th Medical Group. He is survived by his wife, Ursula, his daughter and an unborn child. Doctor Martin was a 1989 graduate of Ohio State University Medical School, performed his residency in emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins University and also served as a medical officer and flight surgeon at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. He was originally commissioned in the Air Force as a missile launch officer after earning an undergraduate degree in microbiology. Following a massive 7,000-square mile search for crew members led by the U.S. Coast Guard with assistance from Navy, Drug Enforcement Agency, and local Fire and Police departments, Air Force officials declared the B-52 Stratofortress crew deceased on July 23. The other crew members who died in the crash were: Maj. Christopher M. Cooper, 33, Aircraft Commander Capt. Michael K. Dodson, 31, Co-Pilot 1st Lt. Robert D. Gerren, 32, Electronic Warfare Officer 1st Lt. Joshua D. Shepherd, 25, Navigator Maj. Brent D. Williams, 37, Navigator More than 1,800 guests including family members, Airmen, Sailors, Soldiers, Coast Guard members, and friends of the aircrew attended Andersen's Friday memorial. "We have all lost in this, but I know in my heart these men were doing something that they loved, said Lt. Col. Thomas Hesterman, 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron commander, " ... these were men who, despite these sad times, would want us to find sunshine in our current darkness." Ursula Martin spoke to the audience and rescue agency members, expressing her appreciation. "Thank you for your talents, for your skills and your abilities. I know that everything was done to search for these six great men," she said. In addition to Barksdale's ceremony, area residents contributed cards, flowers, and ribbons to an informal memorial outside the Shreveport base's North gate. "Our nation suffered a heartbreaking loss this week," said Col. Robert Wheeler, 2nd Bomb Wing commander. "These husbands, fathers, brothers and sons made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country." The 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron deployed to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, from Barksdale AFB, La., as part of the Department of Defense's continuous bomber presence mission in the Pacific. The bomber was scheduled to perform a flyover celebrating Guam's Liberation Day. Brig. Gen. Doug Owens, Andersen's 36th Wing commander, spoke to the challenges that lay ahead for Andersen and Guam, which is in the midst of military growth unprecedented since WWII. "We are professional airmen. We know that we live with risk every day," said. "The emotion runs high with all of this, but ... each of the crewmembers of that bomb squadron will climb back into that jet and they will take off and they will still do America's mission." A board of Air Force officers is investigating the accident.