Body of sailor killed in NATO crash in Norway returned to US | Massachusetts News
LEOMINSTER, Mass. (AP) — The body of a naval officer killed last month during a NATO training exercise in Norway was returned to his home in Massachusetts on Saturday.
A plane carrying the remains of Captain Ross Reynolds landed at Logan International Airport in Boston, where he was greeted by his family and Governor Charlie Baker.
Six Marines loaded the coffin into a hearse, which was then escorted to his hometown of Leominster, about 40 miles west of Boston. Hundreds of townspeople, many carrying American and Marine Corps flags, lined the streets as the hearse headed for a funeral home in nearby Fitchburg.
“He was a first-class kid from a big family, and he just wanted a chance to serve,” Baker said.
Reynolds, a 27-year-old Osprey pilot who joined the Marines in 2017, was one of four Marines killed when their plane crashed March 18 during a NATO exercise in a Norwegian town in the Arctic Circle.
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Others who died were Capt. Matthew Tomkiewicz, of Fort Wayne, Indiana.; Artillery Sergeant. James Speedy, of Cambridge, Ohio; and Cap. Jacob Moore, of Catlettsburg, Kentucky.
Reynolds, who just married in February, was an Eagle Scout who graduated from Leominster High School and Worcester State University. He will be honored at a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. Sunday at Leominster Town Hall.
A public vigil is scheduled for Monday afternoon at the town hall. The funeral mass will be held at Sainte-Cécile Church on Tuesday. Interment at the Massachusetts Veterans Cemetery in Winchendon will be private.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation, but Norwegian police reported bad weather in the area. Norwegian officials said the MV-22B Osprey crashed at Graetaedalen in Beiarn, south of Bodoe.
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.
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