The last survivor of the 1912 sinking of the “Titanic”, Millvina Dean, has died at the age of 97. She died in her sleep at a nursing home in Southampton, England, the city her family had tried to leave behind when it took the ship’s ill-fated maiden voyage, bound for America. Her death came on the 98th anniversary of the launching of the Titanic, on May 31, 1911.

Millvina Dean was just over 2 months old when she and her family set sail, third class, on the luxury ocean liner on April 10, 1912. Five days later, she was among about 700 passengers and crew who were rescued off the coast of Newfoundland. She and her mother, Georgetta, 32, and her brother Bertram, 23 months old, were put into lifeboats. Her father, Bertram, 27, stayed on board the ship and was among more than 1,500 passengers and crew members who went down with the RMS Titanic. The ship sank in less than three hours.

Dean, who was wrapped in a sack to protect her from the cold and lowered into a lifeboat, was the youngest of the 706 Titanic survivors. Her mother Georgetta and two-year-old brother Bertram also survived, dying in 1975 and 1992 respectively.

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Fire Island, N.Y. – A Coast Guard rescue crew rescued three boaters off Fire Island, N.Y. after their 40-foot sailboat ran aground in the fog.

Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound received a call via Channel 16 VHF radio from a crewmember aboard the sailboat Gwaihir stating their boat had run aground in a sandbar off Fire Island beach.

The Coast Guard launched a rescue boat crew from Station Fire Island to assist.

The rescue boat crew arrived on scene along with the Suffolk County Police Department and was able to reach the stranded boaters. The Suffolk County Police Department then safely returned the boaters to Station Fire Island.

The rescued boaters – Stu Williams, 49 of White Fish, Mont.; John Bosco, 40, of Berlin, Conn.; and Jeremiah Bailey, 29 – were not injured and are in good condition.

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A military helicopter crashed at Wheeler Army Airfield during a test flight Wednesday, killing both soldiers aboard, the US Army said.

The 2-seat OH-58D Kiowa Warrior went down Wednesday afternoon. The names of the soldiers killed were not released pending family notification.

Col. Matthew Margotta, commander of US Army Garrison Hawaii, said the Army was technically calling the accident a “hard landing” because the pilots were in control of the aircraft when it went down.

Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Earle Kealoha said firefighters responded to a call of a downed aircraft at 3:34pm. But when they arrived 4 minutes later, federal fire crews already had the fire under control. The Army said it was investigating the accident.

The helicopter belongs to the 25^th Combat Aviation Brigade, part of the 25^th Infantry Division. The brigade is preparing for a 12-month deployment to Iraq scheduled to begin October.

Kiowa helicopters are used primarily for observation and scouting missions. They can be armed with missiles and machine guns, and they are typically flown close to the ground at speeds topping at 100 mph.

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Capt. Michael S. White, Commander Carrier Air Wing (CVW) made his 1000th “trap” on the flight deck of USS George Washington (CVN 73).

“I was very humbled. The privilege of getting 1,000 traps is a testament to our Sailors professionalism and the way they do their jobs right every day.” said Capt. Michael S. White.

George Washington’s Commanding Officer, Capt. David A. Lausman, was on the flight deck to congratulate White afterwards. After his trap, White was quick to thank the professionals on and below the flight deck who make naval aviation possible.

“I couldn’t have stopped today, or any of the previous 999 times, without an arresting gear team that knew exactly what they were doing, because there is little room for error,” White said.

White shared his moment at a reception and cake-cutting ceremony in one of George Washington’s arresting gear machinery rooms. Aviation Boatswain’s Mate Equipment 3rd Class John Ray was touched to get the first piece of cake, which traditionally would go to White.

White rejoined CVW 5 as Deputy Commander in September 2006 and assumed command in May 2008. He has made 10 deployments on seven different aircraft carriers, including George Washington, the Navy’s only permanently forward-deployed carrier.

The George Washington is underway in the western Pacific Ocean conducting its combat operations efficiency evaluation and advanced cyclic flight operations in preparation for its scheduled summer 2009 deployment.

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