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President Donald Trump is scheduled to pay his respects on Wednesday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where the remains of six U.S. service members killed in a refueling aircraft crash will be returned to their families.
This marks the second time since the launch of the war on Iran on February 28 that the Republican president will attend the solemn military ceremony known as a dignified transfer. Trump has previously described this ritual as the "toughest thing" he has had to do as commander in chief.
All six crew members of a KC-135 Air Force refueling aircraft died last week in a crash over friendly territory in western Iraq while supporting operations against Iran. The fallen service members hailed from Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Washington state.
The crash increased the U.S. death toll in Operation Epic Fury to at least 13 service members. The Pentagon reported that about 200 U.S. service members have been injured, including 10 severely.
Trump last visited Dover Air Force Base on March 7 for the dignified transfer of six service members killed by a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait. During that visit, he saluted as flag-draped transfer cases were carried from military aircraft to vehicles transporting them to the base's mortuary facility for final preparations.
"It's the bad part of war," Trump told reporters after that ceremony. When asked if he expected to make multiple trips to Dover for additional dignified transfers as the conflict continued, he replied, "I'm sure. I hate to do it, but it's a part of war, isn't it?"
U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, stated that the crash followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in "friendly airspace" over Iraq. The loss of the aircraft during a combat mission was "not due to hostile or friendly fire," and the circumstances remain under investigation. The other aircraft involved landed safely.
The crash claimed the lives of three personnel assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida: Maj. John A. "Alex" Klinner, 33, from Birmingham, Alabama; Capt. Ariana Savino, 31, from Covington, Washington; and Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34, from Bardstown, Kentucky.
The other three 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, originally from Mooresville, Indiana; Capt. Curtis Angst, 30, of Columbus; and Master Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, also of Columbus.
