Navy Chief Petty Officer Jacques J. Fontan

Remember Our Heroes

Navy Chief Petty Officer Jacques J. Fontan, 36, of New Orleans, Louisiana.

CPO Fontan died while conducting combat operations when the MH-47 helicopter that he was aboard crashed in the vicinity of Asadabad, Afghanistan in Kumar Province. He was assigned to SEAL Team Ten, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Navy Chief Petty Officer Jacques Fontan who had ties to the First Coast will be returned here to be buried after being killed during a rescue mission in Afghanistan. The 36-year-old Navy Seal was one of eight Seals and 16 servicemen who died when their helicopter was shot down on June 28th.

Fontan's father-in-law, Mike Fletcher, who lives in Green Cove Springs is in Virginia where Navy Seals will hold a memorial ceremony on Friday.

Fontan says his son-in-law was a dedicated sailor and husband. Fletcher says of Fontan that he, "died to protect and serve his country."

"He's my baby brother, we were very close," said his sister, Suzanne Fontan Gonczy. "The family is obviously devastated."

Fontan joined the Navy 17 years ago, said his father, Earl Fontan.

He served as a fire control specialist aboard Navy fighting ships, managing electronics that controlled weapons systems, and was a veteran of the first Persian Gulf War. He was serving at the Naval Amphibious Base in Little Creek, Va.

Jacques Fontan had planned to retire with his wife in Florida, his father said. "Family was important to him. On leaves, he spent them with our family _ most of which was in New Orleans, some of which now is in Atlanta," Earl Fontan said. "He was great with his niece and nephews. He delighted in playing roughhouse with them."

Fontan is survived by his wife, Char.

Navy Chief Petty Officer Jacques J. Fontan was killed in action on 06/28/05.