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San Diego State Ceremony Pays Tribute To Aztecs Who Have Died In Service

Wreaths decorate a memorial dedicated to Aztecs who have died while serving in the military, Nov. 4, 2016.
Andrea Mora
Wreaths decorate a memorial dedicated to Aztecs who have died while serving in the military, Nov. 4, 2016.

Navy's Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Swift delivered keynote address

San Diego State Ceremony Pays Tribute To Aztecs Who Have Died In Service

Wreaths decorate a memorial dedicated to Aztecs who have died while serving in the military, Nov. 4, 2016.
Andrea Mora
Wreaths decorate a memorial dedicated to Aztecs who have died while serving in the military, Nov. 4, 2016.

A wreath-laying ceremony was held Friday morning at San Diego State University's memorial for Aztecs who died while serving in the military.

The granite obelisk contains 235 names, and four more are scheduled to be added, according to the school:

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— Marine Capt. Jason James Paynter, a flight instructor killed in 2010 who obtained an SDSU management degree in 2001;

— Air Force Capt. Michael Jack Crawford, a 1964 graduate who died in a training flight in 1970 after serving two tours in Vietnam as a navigator;

— Air Force 1st Lt. Jason William Davis, a 2003 business graduate who died three years later in a jet crash during training; and

— Navy Lt. Christian John Hescock, an extended studies student at SDSU who died in 2007 in a helicopter crash in Guam. Hescock had previously earned a computer science degree from the University of San Diego.

Adm. Scott Swift, the Navy's Pacific Fleet commander and SDSU alumnus, delivered the keynote address. Swift is this year's honorary homecoming chairman.

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The admiral sat down with KPBS reporter Steve Walsh to talk about issues facing the Navy in the Pacific Ocean. (Click on the video above.)

The ceremony was followed by a public reception at the school's veterans center.

Admiral Scott Swift Talks With KPBS's Steve Walsh