Navy Special Warfare Operator 3rd Class (SEAL) Denis C. Miranda

Remember Our Heroes

Navy Special Warfare Operator 3rd Class (SEAL) Denis C. Miranda, 24, of Toms River, N.J.

PO3 Miranda was assigned to an East Coast-based SEAL Team; died Sept. 21, 2010 in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crash during combat operations in the Zabul province, Afghanistan. Also killed in the crash were: Army Maj. Robert F. Baldwin, Army Sgt. Marvin R. Calhoun Jr., Lt. (SEAL) Brendan J. Looney, Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonah D. McClellan, Senior Chief Cryptologic Technician (Collection) David B. McLendon, Army Staff Sgt. Joshua D. Powell, Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class (SEAL) Adam O. Smith, and Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew G. Wagstaff.

Was key member of high school swim team

By Matthew McGrath

Asbury Park (N.J.) Press

TOMS RIVER, N.J. — A Toms River High School East graduate who later became a Navy SEAL was among nine American troops killed in a Sept. 21 military helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Denis Miranda was one of four sailors killed in the crash in the Zabul province, Defense Department officials said. Five soldiers also died.

Miranda graduated from High School East in 2003. He was a member of the school swim team. During his sophomore year in 2001, Miranda was picked by the Asbury Park Press as a key newcomer to the team. In 2002, he was picked as a key returning swimmer.

“He was one of the guys that helped me out when I took over the swimming program,” said Brian Carbone, High School East swim coach. “When I needed something done he would round up the kids. He was one of the more vocal swimmers.”

Miranda enlisted in the Navy on Sept. 10, 2003. Before becoming a SEAL in 2007, he served at Patrol Squadron 8 in Jacksonville, Fla.

Carbone said he got to know Miranda better after he enlisted. Miranda would follow his two younger brothers, Alan and Kevin, through their swimming careers.

“He had a real passion, and I was happy to see that,” Carbone said. “You could see that he was very focused. He had his goals.”

Military officials have not disclosed the helicopter’s mission, and the cause of the crash was not immediately clear.

NATO said there were no reports of enemy fire in the early morning hours in the Daychopan district of Zabul, where the crash took place.

Navy Special Warfare Operator 3rd Class (SEAL) Denis C. Miranda was killed in action on 9/21/10.