Soldier killed in 'aircraft incident' off SoCal coast ID'd as 22-year-old San Bernardino man

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. (KABC) -- One of the two soldiers who died during a training exercise off Southern California's coast has been identified as a 22-year-old San Bernardino man, U.S. Army officials confirmed Saturday.

Sgt. Tyler M. Shelton died some time Thursday during an "aircraft mishap," according to a statement from officials. Further details of the incident, which also left three other soldiers injured, have not been released but a Black Hawk helicopter reportedly crashed.

The other soldier who died was identified as staff Sgt. Vincent P. Marketta, 33, of New Jersey.

"The loss of Staff Sgt. Marketta and Sgt. Shelton has left a scar in this Regiment that will never completely heal," said Col. Andrew R. Graham, commander of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), in a written statement.

Shelton enlisted in the Army in 2016 as a Black Hawk repairer and was deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Both soldiers are expected to receive the Meritorious Service Medal posthumously.

This is the second military training incident to result in multiple fatalities within the past month in the same area. Several Marines and a sailor died in a training accident on July 30 near San Clemente Island.