{"id":1227,"date":"2022-03-22T16:13:49","date_gmt":"2022-03-22T16:13:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linksus.net\/marines-killed-in-norway-crash-during-nato-exercise-identified-the-washington-post\/"},"modified":"2022-03-22T16:13:49","modified_gmt":"2022-03-22T16:13:49","slug":"marines-killed-in-norway-crash-during-nato-exercise-identified-the-washington-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/2022\/03\/22\/marines-killed-in-norway-crash-during-nato-exercise-identified-the-washington-post\/","title":{"rendered":"Marines killed in Norway crash during NATO exercise identified – The Washington Post"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ross Reynolds laid out his \u201cFuture Ambitions\u201d on a high school yearbook page: He wanted \u201cto become a marine officer pilot and have a happy family.\u201d
\u201cThat\u2019s what he did,\u201d the principal at Leominster High said Monday, retrieving the page as the Massachusetts school mourned Reynolds\u2019s death after a NATO exercise in Norway. Reynolds \u2014 27 and newly married \u2014 graduated nearly a decade ago among hundreds of classmates, but Principal Steven Dubzinski remembers him well.
Reynolds was among four American service members killed in last week\u2019s crash<\/a> of an MV-22B Osprey, according to the U.S. Marine Corps. The others were Capt. Matthew J. Tomkiewicz of Fort Wayne, Ind.; Gunnery Sgt. James W. Speedy of Cambridge, Ohio; and Cpl. Jacob M. Moore of Catlettsburg, Ky., authorities said. The four Marines \u2014 all based at Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina \u2014 were mourned widely this week by loved ones, community members, governors and other leaders in the United States and beyond.
The Norwegian military said<\/a> the men\u2019s bodies were retrieved Sunday after a weekend recovery mission complicated by strong winds, heavy rain and a risk of avalanches.
\u201cThe pilots and crew were committed to accomplishing their mission and serving a cause greater than themselves,\u201d Maj. Gen. Michael Cederholm said in a letter to Marines and their families. Cederholm, commander of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, added: \u201cWe will never allow these Marines\u2019 sacrifice to go unnoticed or unappreciated.\u201d
U.S. and Norwegian authorities are investigating what could have caused the crash.
The four Marines, who ranged in age from 24 to 30, were in Norway for a long-planned exercise aimed at readying Allied forces for cold weather. Called Cold Response 2022<\/a>, it gathered 30,000 troops from 27 countries for land, sea and air drills in what NATO describes as \u201cextreme and rugged surroundings, from frozen fjords to shivering seas to ice-encrusted mountains.\u201d
On Friday, Tomkiewicz, Reynolds, Speedy and Moore were aboard an Osprey, an aircraft capable of vertical takeoffs and landings that is mostly used to transport troops and equipment for amphibious assaults. The four were taking part in a training flight in Nordland County in the northern part of the country. They were headed north and due to land just before 6 p.m. in Bodo, just north of the Arctic Circle.
When they did not appear, the U.S. Marine Corps reported them missing and Norwegian authorities launched a search-and-rescue mission.
\u201cI feared the worst, but hoped for a long time for better news,\u201d Gen. Eirik Kristoffersen, Norwegian chief of defense, said in a statement.
About three hours into the search, the wreckage of the Osprey was discovered from the air in Beiarn, a municipality south of Bodo. Amid treacherous weather, authorities arrived at the scene overnight and confirmed the deaths of the crew. Poor weather led crews to suspend recovery efforts Saturday; they resumed Sunday.
The Marine Corps, which assisted with the recovery, said the bodies will be transported back to the United States and brought to family members in the coming days.
The Washington Post was unable to reach some relatives Monday and did not immediately hear back from others.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Twitter<\/a> that he spoke with the Marine Corps Commandant on Monday \u201cto express my condolences and to pledge whatever support might be needed as the @USMC and these Gold Star families deal with their grief and loss.\u201d
Tomkiewicz, a 27-year-old Osprey pilot, joined the Marine Corps in 2015. His decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. He and his wife, Lauren, shared a dog named Kevin Bacon, according to Fort Wayne\u2019s Journal-Gazette<\/a>.
A 2016 graduate of Purdue Polytechnic Institute, he was bursting with personality, always ready with a witty comment or joke, WANE-TV reported<\/a>.
.@FLJanetHolcomb<\/a> and I send our sincere condolences to Captain Matthew Tomkiewicz's family and friends, especially in the tough days ahead. We ask all Hoosiers to surround the family with love and never-ending appreciation for all Captain Tomkiewicz gave to our state and nation.
Reynolds was the other Osprey pilot. He joined the Marines in 2017 and was recognized with decorations including the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and certificates and letters of appreciation.
Dubzinski, who was Reynolds\u2019s guidance counselor, remembers him as driven and quietly confident. He participated in wrestling and robotics. \u201cYou knew he was going to be successful right from the minute that you met him,\u201d Dubzinski said.
He got married this year, not long before going to Europe, the principal said.
Teachers who knew Reynolds are \u201ccrushed,\u201d the principal said. The high school held a moment of silence Monday morning, and staffers with military service lowered a flag to half-staff.
Reynolds\u2019s family members said they were shocked and devastated, adding that he his wife, Lana, \u201chad so many plans. So much ahead of them.\u201d
\u201cWe will miss his smile, his hugs, his laughter,\u201d the Reynoldses said in a statement to the station. \u201cWe will miss his energy and goodness. Ross was so caring, compassionate and committed, not only to his country, but also to being the best son, brother, husband, son-in-law, nephew, cousin, uncle, brother-in-law, friend and Marine that he could be.\u201d
At Leominster High, the principal says Captain Ross Reynolds was an all-American kid.<\/p>\n

He just brought out his yearbook photo. Under \u2018Future Ambitions\u2019 Reynolds wrote, \u201cTo become a marine officer pilot and have a happy family.\u201d #WCVB<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ryJ3c5LehP<\/a>
Speedy, 30, served as an administrative assistant and joined the Marines in 2009. He received accolades including the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with two gold stars, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and the Marine Corps Drill Instructor Ribbon along with certificates and letters of appreciation.
His wife, Chyanne, posted a picture of the two on Facebook early Monday, Stars and Stripes noted<\/a>. In the caption, she wrote, \u201cI love you so much.\u201d The two have a daughter.
Moore, 24, was an Osprey crew chief who joined the Marines in 2018 and had been recognized with the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
Cold Response 2022 was to carry on this week. Cederholm said<\/a> the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing would \u201chonor them by taking to the skies again with their memory in our hearts, with nerves of steel, and ready to answer our great Nation\u2019s call.\u201d
Razzan Nakhlawi contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Ross Reynolds laid out his \u201cFuture Ambitions\u201d on a high school yearbook page: He wanted \u201cto become a marine officer pilot and have a happy family.\u201d\u201cThat\u2019s what he did,\u201d the principal at Leominster High said Monday, retrieving the page as the Massachusetts school mourned Reynolds\u2019s death after a NATO exercise in Norway. Reynolds \u2014 27 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":869,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1227"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1227\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}