Bodies of Marines killed in NATO exercise returned to US

Mar 26, 2022, 1:01 PM | Updated: 1:05 pm

A U.S. Marine Corps carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Gunnery Sgt. James W...

A U.S. Marine Corps carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Gunnery Sgt. James W. Speedy of Cambridge, Ohio, during a casualty return, Friday, March 25, 2022, at Dover Air Force Base. According to the Department of Defense, Speedy died March 18, in an Osprey crash during a NATO exercise in Norway. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

DOVER, Del. (AP) — The bodies of four Marines who died in a military aircraft crash during a NATO exercise were transferred back to the U.S. 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 Saturday that hundreds of U.S. 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.

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              This undated photo made available by the U.S. Marine Corps shows Capt. Ross A. Reynolds, of Leominster, Mass. Officials said an Osprey aircraft crashed Friday, March 18, 2022, in a Norwegian town in the Arctic Circle, killing Capt. Reynolds, and three other Marines. 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. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo/Capt. Katrina Herrera via AP)
            
              A U.S. Marine Corps carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Gunnery Sgt. James W. Speedy of Cambridge, Ohio, during a casualty return, Friday, March 25, 2022, at Dover Air Force Base. According to the Department of Defense, Speedy died March 18, in an Osprey crash during a NATO exercise in Norway. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
            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, Friday, March 25, 2022, at Dover Air Force Base. According to the Department of Defense, Reynolds died March 18, in an Osprey crash during a NATO exercise in Norway. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) A U.S. Marine Corps carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Capt. Ross A. Reynolds of Leominster, Mass., into a transfer vehicle during a casualty return, Friday, March 25, 2022, at Dover Air Force Base. According to the Department of Defense, Reynolds died March 18, in an Osprey crash during a NATO exercise in Norway. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) A U.S. Marine Corps carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Cpl. Jacob M. Moore of Catlettsburg, Ky., during a casualty return, Friday, March 25, 2022, at Dover Air Force Base. According to the Department of Defense, Moore died March 18, in an Osprey crash during a NATO exercise in Norway. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) A U.S. Marine Corps carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Cpl. Jacob M. Moore of Catlettsburg, Ky., during a casualty return, Friday, March 25, 2022, at Dover Air Force Base. According to the Department of Defense, Moore died March 18, in an Osprey crash during a NATO exercise in Norway. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) A U.S. Marine Corps carry team salutes transfer cases containing the remains of from left, Cpl. Jacob M. Moore of Catlettsburg, Ky., Gunnery Sgt. James W. Speedy of Cambridge, Ohio, Capt. Ross A. Reynolds of Leominster, Mass., and Capt. Matthew J. Tomkiewicz of Allen, Ind., as they are loaded into transfer vehicles during a casualty return, Friday, March 25, 2022, at Dover Air Force Base. According to the Department of Defense, the four marines died March 18, in an Osprey crash during a NATO exercise in Norway. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) A U.S. Marine Corps carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Capt. Matthew J. Tomkiewicz of Allen, Ind., during a casualty return, Friday, March 25, 2022, at Dover Air Force Base. According to the Department of Defense, Tomkiewicz died March 18, in an Osprey crash during a NATO exercise in Norway. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) 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, Friday, March 25, 2022, at Dover Air Force Base. According to the Department of Defense, Reynolds died March 18, in an Osprey crash during a NATO exercise in Norway. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Members of the military seen in shadow salute as a U.S. Marine Corps carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Gunnery Sgt. James W. Speedy of Cambridge, Ohio, during a casualty return, Friday, March 25, 2022, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, Speedy died March 18, in an Osprey crash during a NATO exercise in Norway. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

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Bodies of Marines killed in NATO exercise returned to US