Marine Corps F/A-18 pilot Captain Jake Frederick was killed Wednesday when his aircraft crashed into the ocean off the coast of Japan.
The 32 year Hornet old pilot was on a training mission and ejected from the aircraft. Another F/A-18 that was on the mission with Captain Frederick remained on scene circling the location of the crash until he ran low on fuel.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense reported Thursday that a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force ship had recovered Frederick.
Frederick was a graduate of Ray High School in Corpus Christi, Texas, and attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he met the love of his life, Kiley, his mother, Donna Frederick, said Thursday. The couple have a young son and a baby on the way, she said. Donna Frederick said the Marines had been to her home to notify her.
Jake was “a beloved son,” Donna Frederick said. He loved water skiing, snow skiing and tennis. “Flying was his dream,” she said. “He got to do that.”Serving in the Marine Corps runs deep in the family, she said.
Jake Frederick’s brother, Joe Bob Frederick, is also a Marine and a C-130 Hercules pilot. He is a flight instructor in Corpus Christi. Donna Frederick’s father was also a Marine. – Stars & Stripes
Watch below a video about fighter pilots that features Captain Frederick
Featured Image via Screenshot from Stars & Stripes Video – USMC