Military IDs remains of three Marines recovered after December midair collision off Japan

[rangerrebew]

Military IDs remains of three Marines recovered after December midair collision off Japan

The remains of Maj. James M. Brophy, Staff Sgt. Maximo A. Flores and Lt. Col. Kevin R. Herrmann have been recovered. The three Marines were killed in a December collision off the coast of Japan.

 

By SETH ROBSON | STARS AND STRIPES Published: June 26, 2019

TOKYO — The Marine Corps has identified three servicemembers whose remains were recovered in a salvage operation following the crash of two military aircraft late last year off the coast of Japan.

Five crew members of a KC-130J tanker and the pilot of an F/A-18 Hornet were killed in a midair collision during a nighttime training mission on Dec. 6. The Hornet’s weapons officer was the sole survivor. Both aircraft were based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni.

A salvage operation, which began May 27, concluded June 7 after recovering the remains as well as the KC-130J’s cockpit voice and digital flight recorders.

https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/military-ids-remains-of-three-marines-recovered-after-december-midair-collision-off-japan-1.587657

[don-o]

When my son, Ben, joined the Marines (over ten years ago), a Marine I worked with told me, "Welcome to the family. You will find out what that means."
The death of every one of them hits me harder than it did before and the aviation ones, extra hard. It is an inherently dangerous business. But hard, realistic training is required. They need to be as close to perfect as possible against the day when bad actors will be shooting at them.