Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth conducts a press briefing on Operation Epic Fury at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., March 13, 2026. (Milton Hamilton/U.S. Air Force)
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the families of six U.S. airmen who died after their Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker crashed in western Iraq last week had a simple message for him.
“We grieved with their families, and we listened. What I heard through tears, through hugs, through strength and through unbreakable resolve was the same from family after family. They said, ‘Finish this, honor their sacrifice. Do not waver. Do not stop until the job is done,’ ” Hegseth said at a news conference Thursday at the Pentagon.
Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were among top U.S. officials who on Wednesday attended the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, as the airmen were returned to their families.
Three of the airmen were part of the 99th Air Refueling Squadron: Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Ala.; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, of Covington, Wash.; and Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Ky. The squadron is stationed in Birmingham, Ala., but functions administratively under the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force base in Florida.
Also killed were Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Ind.; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio, who were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Ohio.
The refueling aircraft went down in friendly airspace on March 12. The circumstances of the crash remain under investigation, though U.S. Central Command said it was not caused by hostile or friendly fire. Another plane involved landed safely.
Thirteen service members have been killed and nearly 200 have been wounded during Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran that began Feb. 28. and is now in its third week.
This story will be updated.
