Memorial held for pilot killed in crash

NAS WHITING FIELD, Fla. (WALA) - NAS WHITING FIELD, Fla. (WALA) - Nearly 500 people gathered Monday to say their final goodbyes to a flight instructor. Lt. Clint Wermers' plane went down in Lake Pontchartrain in January.

Friends and family members held on to each other as they remembered a man who lived for his country.

Lt. Will Bowers, who flew with him for several years, said he will miss his smile.

Wermers was a Navy flight instructor with Training Squadron Six at Whiting Field.

He died on January 23 when the T-34 Turbomentor training plane crashed into Lake Pontchartrain. A student was with Wermers and was rescued about two hours after the crash. Search crews spent days looking for the aircraft and Wermers' body after the accident. Divers found his body a few days later, on January 26.

At his memorial, friends spoke with nothing but respect.

"To be a true patriot, warrior, you need to live for your country. It's the actions you take, deeds you accomplish while you are alive. Clint was out there living the dream, out there flying, teaching the future of naval aviation," Wermers' commander, Lt. Col. Javier Ball, said.

Lt. Wermers leaves behind a pregnant wife and two little girls. Lt. Col. Ball said they're doing anything they can to help the family.

"They're just words, they want their father back, husband back. We do what we can to make her feel at home, make her a part of the family," he added.

The ceremony ended with a missing man formation fly-over and the playing of Taps. Wermers' colleagues said it's a final farewell to a men to dedicated his life to our country.

Wermer was a native of Mitchell, S.D., and graduated from South Dakota State University before joining the Navy. He joined Whiting Field in March 2007.

A fund has been set up for Lt. Wermers' family.