Bodies of Marines killed in NATO exercise returned to U.S.

The U.S. Marine Corps said an Osprey aircraft crashed on March 18 in a Norwegian town in the Arctic Circle, killing the four Marines

A U.S. Marine Corps carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Capt. Ross A. Reynolds of Leominster, Mass., during a casualty return, on Friday, March 25, 2022, at Dover Air Force Base. | Photo Credit: AP

The bodies of four Marines who died in a military aircraft crash during a NATO exercise were transferred back to the US on Friday.

The U.S. Marine Corps said an Osprey aircraft crashed on March 18 in a Norwegian town in the Arctic Circle, killing the four Marines.

Officials with the Marines said on Saturday that hundreds of US Marines, sailors, service members and civilians rendered final salutes to the fallen Marines in Bodø, Norway, early Friday.

The bodies of the Marines were then placed on board an Air National Guard military transport aircraft and flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Marine Corps officials said.

The remains of the Marines will ultimately be moved to their final resting places according to their families' wishes, officials said in a statement.

The crash killed Capt. Ross A. Reynolds, 27, of Leominster, Massachusetts; Capt. Matthew J. Tomkiewicz, 27, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Gunnery Sgt. James W. Speedy, 30, of Cambridge, Ohio; and Cpl. Jacob M. Moore, 24, of Catlettsburg, Kentucky.

The men were all assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, Marine Aircraft Group 26, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing stationed at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina.

They were taking part in a long-planned NATO exercise called Cold Response, which authorities said was unrelated to Russia's war in Ukraine.