The bodies of four Marines who were killed during a NATO cold response training exercise in Norway earlier this month were returned to the United States over the weekend.
The Marines Corps identified the dead, who were killed when their MV-22 Osprey crashed on March 18, as Capt. Matthew J. Tomkiewicz of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Capt. Ross A. Reynolds of Leominster, Massachusetts, Gunnery Sgt. James W. Speedy of Cambridge, Ohio, and Cpl. Jacob M. Moore of Catlettsburg, Kentucky. The four of them were all assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261.
Hundreds of Marines, sailors, other service members, and civilians gave their final salutes to the fallen Marines on Friday in Bodo, Norway, according to the Associated Press. The caskets were then flown on an Air National Guard military transport aircraft to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
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Their bodies will be moved to their final resting places, according to the wishes of the families.
“The pilots and crew were committed to accomplishing their mission and serving a cause greater than themselves,” said Maj. Gen. Michael Cederholm, the commanding general of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, in a letter to their families. “We will continue to execute the mission while keeping these Marines and their service on the forefront of our minds. We will never allow these Marines’ sacrifice to go unnoticed or unappreciated.”
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The training exercise in which the Marines were killed was not related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
