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Colo. Man Killed In Midair Collision Was CU Alum

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Nov 3, 2009 8:37 pm US/Mountain

Colo. Man Killed In Midair Collision Was CU Alum

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) ― The Colorado man killed when a Coast Guard plane and Marine Corps helicopter collided last week off the southern California coast was a graduate of the University of Colorado.

Nine people including 1st Lt. Tom Claiborne, 26, of Parker, were killed when the Coast Guard C-130 and the Marine Corps AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter collided Thursday evening.

Kenneth Claiborne told the Camera newspaper on Tuesday that his son graduated from Chaparral High School in Parker in 2002 and had a full ROTC scholarship to CU.

Tom Claiborne graduated from the University of Colorado in 2006 with a degree in aerospace engineering. He had been part of CU's Navy ROTC.

"He was a fine young man," said retired Marine Col. Greg Akers, who was the unit's commanding officer. "I was very proud of him. He was very bright and had a dry sense of humor. He had one of those mischievous grins."

Donna Gerren, a senior instructor in aerospace engineering at CU, remembered his smile too.

"I've seen literally thousands of students, and after so many years, you tend to forget the details of each student's life," she said. "But Tom, I remember him so well. He was such a distinctive personality and an outstanding student. He's the kind of student we wish we had all the time."

The school's chancellor, Phil DiStefano, also expressed his sympathy in a written statement Tuesday.

"Whether they die in combat or training, it's a loss to the brotherhood -- to the Marine Corps -- and to the nation," Akers said.

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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