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2nd MN SEAL Killed In Chopper Crash Identified

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A second Minnesota man has been identified as one of the 30 soldiers killed Saturday in America's biggest loss since the war in Afghanistan started.

According to a family friend, Minnehaha Academy graduate John Faas, 31, was among the Navy SEALs killed in the attack on a Chinook helicopter, which was shot down in Afghanistan on Saturday.

"He was just a polite, classy guy," said Faas' former principal from Minnehaha Academy. "A guy like this only comes around once or twice in a career. He wanted to be a Navy SEAL ever since he was in middle school."

Twenty-four-year-old Nicholas Spehar, of Chisago City, also died when the Chinook helicopter crashed after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

Dave Ertl, who was the principal at Chisago Lakes High School when Spehar graduated in 2005, said Spehar excelled inside the classroom and outside of it.

The helicopter carrying the soldiers was on a mission targeting a Taliban leader when it was shot. Twenty-two of the 30 American troops in the helicopter were Navy SEALs.

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