On Thursday, January 14^th, two helicopters collided off the coast of Hawaii. Each helicopter carried six Marines. The Marines were on a nighttime training flight at the time of the crash. According to the Coast Guard, those on the Kaneohe Bay base did not receive a mayday call regarding the helicopters.  Rather, they were only informed by the Marine Corps that something had gone wrong with the training exercise.

The U.S. Marine Corps identified the twelve men as “missing” following the crash. The Navy, the National Guard, and the Hawaii Police were all involved in the search for the Marines.  During the search, they found floating pieces of debris and an empty life raft. However the search was officially suspended as of sunset on Tuesday, January 19^th, after five days of searching. All of the twelve men will be remembered for their service.

One of the twelve marines, Christopher Orlando, was from Hingham.  He was a member of the Hingham High Class of 2010 and those who had the good fortune to know him remember Orlando as being upbeat and having a great sense of humor. According to Hingham High Vice Principal Mr. Swanson, Orlando had earned the respect of those in the school community. After the news of the crash, Hingham High held a moment of silence for Orlando.

At Hingham Town Hall, the Marine Corps and Blue Star Flags were raised and inverted.  Additionally, the town of Hingham is offering town residents a special version of the Hingham flag in Orlando’s honor. The flag displays a message of support and respect for the troops.

At this time, Orlando’s family requests that everyone respects their privacy and asks for their prayers. Friends of Christopher Orlando and his family have also created memorials to the beloved man and shared their love over social media. In response, his family released a statement that declared they “would like to thank everyone who continues to pray and send their expressions of concern and love for the safe return of United States Marine Corps Cpl. Christopher Orlando and his fellow Marines.”