ROANOKE (WBAP/KLIF News ) – A native North Texan has been identified as one of two Navy SEALS who died during a mission off the coast of Somalia earlier this month.
27-year-old Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram is from Roanoke. 37-year-old Navy Special Warfare Operator First Class Christopher Chambers of Maryland also lost his life.
The Naval Special Warfare Command Public Affairs said Ingram and Chambers went missing after an assignment to a West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare Unit.
The two fell into the sea while trying to board an unflagged ship that was carrying Iranian-made weapons to Yemen during eight-foot swells.
According to a news release, Ingram slipped while climbing a ladder onto a gap the waves created between the ship and the SEALs’ combatant craft. Chambers jumped into the gap to try and save him.
After an 11-day search and rescue mission, officials reclassified the operation as a recovery effort, according to the Associated Press.
On Monday, the Navy released their names after notifying their families. The deaths sparked an outpouring of condolences from private and public North Texans.
The mission the two were on came as the prohibited moving of weapons to Yemen takes on a more urgent tone.
The Yemen-based Houthi rebels have been attacking commercial and Navy ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with missile and drone attacks over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Although the U.S. military has conducted retaliatory strikes, the rebels continue their assaults in the region.
The Associated Press reports the U.S. Navy’s 5th fleet is conducting an investigation into the incident and is expected to examine whether the SEALs were properly equipped and trained for the mission, whether procedures were followed along with decisions made regarding the timing and approval of the road.
Copyright 2023. WBAP/KLIF News. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.