President Donald Trump paid his respects on Wednesday at a Delaware military base where the stays of six U.S. service members killed in the crash of a refueling aircraft were returned to their families.
It was the second time since launching the war with Iran on Feb. 28 that the Republican president will attend the solemn military ritual referred to as a dignified transfer, which he once described because the “hardest thing” he has needed to do as commander in chief.
Accompanying Trump were Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and lawmakers including Sens. Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt, each Alabama Republicans.
All six crew members of a KC-135 Air Force refueling aircraft were killed last week in a plane crash over friendly territory in western Iraq while supporting operations against Iran. They were from Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Washington state.
“All and sundry on that aircraft carried a weight most Americans won’t ever see, and so they carried it with professionalism, courage, and a level of quiet excellence that deserves to be recognized,” retired Lt. Col Ernesto Nisperos, a friend of one in all those killed, said in a text message Wednesday.
The crash brought the U.S. death toll in Operation Epic Fury to not less than 13 service members. About 200 U.S. service members have been injured, including 10 severely, the Pentagon has said.
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Wednesday’s dignified transfer was closed to news media coverage on the request of the families in accordance with military policy. Trump spent slightly below two hours on the bottom and didn’t speak to reporters leaving Air Force One or returning to it.
Trump last traveled to Dover Air Force Base on March 7 for the dignified transfer of six U.S. service members who were killed by a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait. He saluted as flag-draped transfer cases containing the stays of the fallen service members were carried from military aircraft to vehicles waiting to take them to the bottom’s mortuary facility to organize them for his or her final resting place.
“It’s the bad a part of war,” he told reporters afterward. Asked then if he frightened about having to make multiple trips to the bottom for added dignified transfers because the war continued, he said, “I’m sure. I hate to do it, but it surely’s a component of war, isn’t it?”
U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations within the Middle East, said that the crash followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace” over Iraq but that the lack of the aircraft during a combat mission was “not resulting from hostile or friendly fire.” The circumstances were under investigation. The opposite plane landed safely.
The crash killed three people assigned to the sixth Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida: Maj. John A. “Alex” Klinner, 33, who served in Birmingham, Alabama; Capt. Ariana Linse Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington; and Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky.
Klinner, who left behind a wife, a 2-year-old son and 7-month-old twins, was known for his regular command and goofy nature, in addition to a willingness to assist others. Pruitt’s husband described her as a “radiant” woman who lit up the room. Savino was a friend, mentee and “source of positive energy” who was happy with her Puerto Rican heritage and inspired young Latinas, said Nisperos, who’s serving as spokesman for her family.
“She had had this warmth that made you are feeling seen, a strength that showed up in every part she touched, and a spark — that spice — that made her unforgettable,” Nisperos said. “For those who knew her, even for a moment, you knew you were within the presence of somebody who was going to vary the world.”
The three others were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio: Capt. Seth Koval, 38, a resident of Stoutsville, Ohio, who was from Mooresville, Indiana; Capt. Curtis Angst, 30, who lived in Columbus; and Master Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, of Columbus.
Koval grew up dreaming of becoming a pilot, based on his wife, who described him as a loving, generous “fixer of all things.” Angst’s family said his life was defined by service, generosity and “a real love for people.” Simmons loved confiding in his 85-year-old grandmother and understanding together with her, Sen. Jon Husted said Tuesday, when he and Sen. Bernie Moreno honored the Ohio airmen on the Senate floor.
“To the mom and pop of those three young soldiers, I can’t even process what you’re going through. I can’t even imagine the emotions that you simply’re feeling,” Moreno said. “Just know that America is grateful beyond words for the sacrifice that your heroic young sons made.”
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