DAVIS COUNTY, Utah — Visitors to popular Antelope Island in northern Utah have likely seen a sign for the U.S. Army Ranger and Air Force Memorial, but probably are unaware of the story behind it.
On October 29, 1992, four MH-60 helicopters took off from Hill Air Force Base and headed east on a joint training mission.
“The fourth aircraft struck the water at about 140 miles an hour and exploded," said Chief Warrant Officer Scott Horsington (Ret.), who was on the training mission.
The helicopter with 13 service members aboard crashed just after 9 p.m., nearly 100 yards from Antelope Island.
"I was on the third aircraft," said Horsington. "When it hit the water and exploded, I was sitting in the door.
"I couldn't see behind us, but the whole night lit up.”
Horsington shared how the other aircraft quickly landed after the accident — one near the marina and the other two on the causeway, before soldiers paddled almost a mile out into the water, looking for survivors.
"Throw in nasty weather, very little illumination, flying over water, which is very difficult, and just... it was like a perfect storm. All the things that could be bad happened," said Horsington, whose daughter is a FOX 13 News producer.
Although one service member was rescued following the incident, the other 12 died in the crash.
The memorial honoring those who lost their lives was officially dedicated in 1994, and Horsington was back on the island as a member of the ranger firing squad when the memorial was rededicated in 2022.
"One of the things that bothers me is when I hear someone say they died for their country," Horsington said. "Knowing the people that died that night, they didn't die for their country; they lived for their country."
The U.S. Army Ranger and Air Force Memorial can be found at the end of the causeway near the marina.
"It'd be nice if other people knew about it," admitted Horsington, "and other people understood what happened that night and thought a little bit about them.”
