Two of six US service members killed in aircraft crash over Iraq identified | US-Israel war on Iran
The names of two of the six US soldiers who died last week when the military refueling plane they were on crashed over Iraq were made public on Saturday; A recently promoted father and a son they loved very much emerged.
The Ohio Air National Guard said three of the service members came from the 121st aerial refueling wing in Columbus, while a family from Birmingham, Alabama, confirmed that pilot Alex Klinner died in the crash.
The Pentagon, which has not yet officially identified the six soldiers, said that the loss of the KC-135 Stratotanker was not caused by enemy or friendly fire.
Klinner, 33, was recently promoted to major and deployed in less than a week, the family said. Klinner leaves behind three young children: seven-month-old twins and a two-year-old son, said his brother-in-law, James Harrill.
“He was a really good father and he really loved his family, a lot,” Harrill told the Associated Press.
“Over the last 24 hours, my family has suffered unimaginable loss,” Harrill said in a post on Instagram. “He was the kind of man who made everyone around him feel stable and safe. He was a devoted husband, an incredible father, and someone who lived with a quiet strength and humility that is hard to put into words.”
He added: “The pain is deep, but so is the pride. Alex served his country with courage and conviction, and the way he loved his family was even more extraordinary.”
Three of the dead were soldiers serving with the Columbus-based unit, the Ohio Air National Guard’s 121st air refueling wing said in a Facebook post late Friday.
“We sympathize with their loved ones and must not forget the valuable contributions these Airmen made to their country and the impact they left on our organization,” according to the post.
Another soldier killed in the crash was named Sergeant Tyler Simmons of Columbus, Ohio, by his mother, Cheryl Simmons, who said she was making funeral plans for her son.
In a statement obtained by WCMH-TV in Columbus, Tyler Simmons’ family said they were heartbroken to hear about the fatal crash.
“Tyler’s smile could light up any room, his powerful presence could fill any room. His parents, grandparents, family and friends are deeply saddened by his loss of life,” they said.
US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said the crash followed an unspecified incident involving two planes in “friendly airspace” over western Iraq on Thursday. The other tanker involved in the incident landed safely in Israel.
The crash brought the death toll in the US’s Operation Epic Fury to at least 13 soldiers; the other seven were killed in action. The Pentagon said earlier this week that about 140 US soldiers were injured, eight seriously.
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth described the missing aircrew as heroes.
“War is hell. War is chaos,” Hegseth said at a news conference Friday. “And as we saw yesterday with the tragic accident of our KC-135 tanker, bad things can happen. They are all American heroes.”
The KC-135 has been in service for over 60 years. In civilian terms, this is the Boeing 707 airliner, which was retired from US passenger service in 1981. The tanker has been involved in several fatal accidents, most recently in Central Asia in 2013.
It is used for aerial refueling but can also be used to transport injured personnel during medical evacuations or conduct surveillance missions. According to the Congressional Research Service, there were 376 KC-135s in the air force last year, with 151 on active duty, 163 in the air national guard and 62 in the air force reserve.
While details of the incident have not yet been made public, questions are being asked as to why the air crew is not believed to have been given parachutes.
A. 2008 newsletter An official from the air refueling unit stated that the air force has withdrawn parachutes from KC-135s and noted that it is statistically safer to remain on the aircraft, “especially when flying over enemy territory.”
“It may seem strange to remove parachutes from military aircraft, but KC-135s are not like other aircraft,” the news release said. “They rarely experience accidents, and the likelihood of a KC-135 crew member needing to use a parachute is extremely low.”
