Over the weekend, America experienced a tragic loss as more than twenty of the elite Navy SEALs lost their lives in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Among those who lost their lives were lifelong friends, who shared the same passion for service, and who served alongside each other – until the very end.

Navy SEALs Robert James Reeves and Jonas Kelsall had been best friends since high school. They both chose to enlist in the Navy, and eventually trained to become SEALs. They both successfully completed trials that earned them spots in SEAL Team 6.

Robert James Reeves’ father, James, shared the following of his son: “He was always very gregarious, a star soccer and lacrosse player in high school… It had never been obvious to me that he was going to choose a military career. It is very difficult to make it on these Seal teams. But that was where he knew he needed to be.”

Reeves and Kelsall hail from Shreveport, Louisiana. The two had been best friends since their first year in high school.

Flags at Lakewood City Hall were flown at half-staff in memory of Kelsall, the son of Greater Lakewood Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive John Kelsall.

Lakewood Mayor Larry Van Nostran shared: “It’s a very sad day in Lakewood… John has been part of the Lakewood family for many years and we truly feel the pain for the loss of his son Jonas. It’s really a blow for all of us as Americans. Our military service members in combat zones like Lt. Cmdr. Kelsall put their lives on the line every day doing very dangerous work to try to make the world a safer place. We owe them and their families so much.”