Early Thursday morning, a Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet was attempting an aerial refueling from a KC-130 tanker aircraft when something went wrong. While the details regarding the incident remain sparse, it has since been confirmed that both Marines aboard the Hornet were recovered — with one receiving medical care and the other, Capt. Jahmar F. Resilard, 28, of Miramar, Fla., declared dead shortly after being discovered. The crew of the KC-130, however, have not been found since.
An international search and rescue effort that saw cooperation from American, Japanese and Australian assets continued for five days until the Marine Corps called off the search yesterday, declaring the five missing Marines dead.
Now, the Marine Corps has identified the Marines lost in the KC-130 that went down. All five Marines were assigned to the Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 152. Here are their names and details of their service, as released by the Department of Defense by way of USNI:
Lt. Col. Kevin R. Herrmann, 38, of New Bern, N.C.
“Lt. Col. Kevin R. Herrmann served 16 years in the Marine Corps. His decorations include the Air Medal with twenty-four Strike Flight Awards, two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, and two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals. He is survived by his wife and three daughters. He was promoted to the rank of Lt. Col. posthumously.”
Maj. James M. Brophy, 36, of Staatsburg, N.Y.
“Maj. James M. Brophy served 12 years in the Marine Corps. His decorations include the Air Medal with two Strike Flight Awards, one Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and one Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. He is survived by his wife, son and daughter.”
Staff Sgt. Maximo A. Flores, 27, of Surprise, Ariz.
“Staff Sgt. Maximo A. Flores served nine years in the Marine Corps. His decorations include one Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, and a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal with one bronze star. He is survived by his wife.”
Cpl. Daniel E. Baker, 21, of Tremont, Ill.
“Cpl. Daniel E. Baker served two years in the Marine Corps. His decorations include the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. He is survived by his mother and father.”
Cpl. William C. Ross, 21, of Hendersonville, Tenn
“Cpl. William C. Ross served two years in the Marine Corps. His decorations include the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. He is survived by his mother and father.”
Images courtesy of the Dept. of Defense