OKINAWA, Japan (AP) - The U.S. Marine Corps says a Marine from Maine was among three killed when a military aircraft crashed into the sea off the east coast of Australia days ago.
It says the three Marines were declared dead after extensive search and rescue efforts. It says the MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft had been conducting regularly scheduled operations when it crashed.
First Lt. Benjamin R. Cross died in the crash. He was 26 and was from Oxford, Maine. He was assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265. His decorations include the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
Also declared dead were Marines from Sedgwick, Kansas, and Los Angeles.
Col. Tye R. Wallace says, “The loss of every Marine is felt across our entire Marine Corps family.”
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