Friends, family and fellow shipmates crowded into the David Adams Memorial Chapel and the C-9 auditorium on Naval Station Norfolk, Aug. 23 to remember three fallen aviators from Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 120. The three E-2C Hawkeye pilots, Lt. Cameron N. Hall, Lt. Ryan K. Betton and Lt. j.g. Jerry R. Smith, were killed on Aug. 15 while conducting training operations from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).

The memorial service started with the invocation by Commander Airborne Command, Control and Logistics Wing Chaplin David Jeltema. VAW-120’s Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Jeff Trent, spoke to more than 500 mourners about the pilots’ selfless devotion to duty and their commitment to the Navy.

“It is said that you can tell the kind of life a person leads by the friends they have left behind,” said Trent. “With people from as far as Australia and Europe in attendance today, it goes to show that these men have led full lives and will be sadly missed by all.”

Betton graduated from the Virginia Military Institute with a Bachelor of Science in Biology in the spring of 1998. In his more than nine years of service, Betton has made numerous deployments to the Western Pacific in support of Operations Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom. His friends remembered him as a dedicated pilot and friend.

“He was a true southern gentleman even though he was from Michigan and spoke Canadian-French,” said Lt. Jason Buckley. “If you ever needed him, he would always be there no matter what.”

There wasn’t a dry eye in the chapel as Betton’s wife spoke about the first and only time his son saw him return home.

“About three months ago, Ryan flew in from a month-long mission and as he walked through the hangar bay, I let Ian down. He went running toward his father with open arms and as he kissed me he whispered, ‘This is the best day of my life and I will never forget it,’” said Betton's wife.

Hall received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Northwestern State University in 2000. He had spent the last three years underway on three different aircraft carriers.

“He was known around the squadron as a joker,” said Trent. “I had him come to my stateroom so I could hear his fishing and hunting stories.”

Hall’s family, which included his father, brother, two uncles and two cousins, eulogized him with stories about his love for fishing and how he had finally found the love of his life.

“As we fished, the conversations were diverse, but it always went back to his love of the Navy and how happy he was serving his country,” said his uncle Cliff Hall. "Our family will remember Cameron, Jeff and Ryan in our own way, but we want everyone to know how proud we are of them.”

Smith graduated in 2003 with a dual major in Mechanical and Nautical Engineering from the United States Merchant Marine Academy. He was the only student aboard the Hawkeye. Smith’s brother, Eric, spoke about how it had been Jerry’s dream, at an early age, to be a pilot and they are so proud of Jerry and his fellow shipmates.

“Jerry Smith, who was a young lieutenant, was on his way to a real, real bright career,” said Trent. “This is a real tragedy.”

After the families received shadow boxes, the mourners gathered in front of the church for the playing of taps, a 21-gun salute and a fly-by from fellow E-2C Hawkeyes. “They say it all the time that it happens to the best, but this time it really did,” said Trent.

A scholarship fund has been set up for Ian Betton through the VAW/VRC scholarship fund. [ANN salutes Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Elizabeth Gilson, Fleet Public Affairs Center Atlantic]

FMI: www.news.navy.mil/local/cvn75/