WASHINGTON -- President Clinton Friday saluted five missing U.S. crewmen who had been stationed aboard the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, which he visited just two weeks ago.
A solemn Clinton began a joint news conference with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl by saying he had just been informed that their E-2C 'Hawkeye' aircraft crashed off Italy in the Ionian Sea during a routine flight.
'I want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with the relatives and the shipmates of those five servicemen who are missing at sea,' the president said.
In Norfolk, Va., a spokesman for U.S. Atlantic Fleet said the plane went down at about 6:45 p.m. EST Thursday, about a mile from the Roosevelt.
The Norfolk-based carrier is supporting Operation Provide Promise, the U.S.-mission to airdrop supplies into besieged Bosnia.
Clinton visited the Roosevelt on March 12, off the coast of Virginia, shortly before the carrier steamed off to Mediterranean for a six-month mission.
The president received a somewhat cool reception on the carrier as some servicemen voiced criticism that he had never served in the military himself. Others complained about his decision to end the service's ban on homosexuals.
Clinton, standing in the White House East Room Friday, recalled his visit to the Roosevelt and said he 'met the fine sailors and Marines serving their nation at sea.'
'I was profoundly impressed by their commitment, their dedication, and their professionalism,' he said. 'They made America proud.'
Kohl prefaced his prepared remarks with a brief tribute to the five missing crewmen as well, saying the service of such military personnel is crucial to world freedom and helped make the way for the reunification of Germany.
'Without that service, there would be no freedom and peace,' Kohl said. 'And that is why I am very sad.'
He asked Clinton to 'convey to the families of the people concerned my feelings of sympathy.'
A Navy spokesman said search-and-rescue operations for survivors were being conducted from the Roosevelt, but that they had found no sign of life.
The spokesman said the early-warning aircraft had been operating in international airspace, and the crash is not related to any hostile fire.
The Navy was withholding the identities of the five officers pending notification of next of kin.
