A U.S. Army CH-47 helicopter with 12 American troops on board crashed into the sea in the Philippines on February 21, 2002 and no survivors were found, the Pentagon said. The big U.S. Army helicopter went down in darkness while flying from Basilan to Mactan Air Base. A CH-47 is seen in this undated file photo. (DOD via Reuters)
Two U.S. MH-47 Chinook helicopters prepare to land to pick up members of the U.S. Special Forces at a military base Feb. 17, 2002 in Zamboanga, southern Philippines. A U.S. Army MH-47 Chinook involved in anti-terrorism training exercises crashed at sea in the Philippines Thursday Feb. 21, 2002 with 12 Americans aboard, the U.S. Pacific Command said.
Newly arrived members of US Special Forces sit in a tent in Tabiawan camp on Basilan island in southern Philippines, February 22, 2002. Massive search operations have been launched for an MH47 helicopter with 12 US troops on board which crashed in the sea in the southern Philippines.
An American soldier secures an athletic field in Isabela on Basilan island February 17, 2002, in the southern Philippines. United States Green Beret commandos flew into Basilan, home to the Abu Sayyaf Musilm guerrila group and said although they were on a training mission, they were prepared to fight.
Members of U.S. Special Forces wearing full combat gear together with their Filipino counterparts ride on a pick-up truck while they visited Isabela town in Basilan island, southern Philippines to survey an athletic field Sunday, Feb. 17, 2002, while local residents look on
Filipino children watch as a U.S. special forces soldier wearing full combat gear and his Filipino counterpart survey a possible helicopter landing site.
Filipino women introduce a variety of local fruits to a group of U.S. Special Forces members Sunday, Feb. 17, 2002 inside a military camp in Zamboanga, southern Philippines. Before heading to a southern Philippine island to help train Philippine troops fighting rebels, U.S. troops took seminars on cultural sensitivity and the roots of Muslim rebellion in the poverty-wracked south of this former U.S. colony.