Capt. Matthew Tomkiewicz, Capt. Ross Reynolds, Cpl. Jacob Moore, Gunnery Sgt. James Speedy. Marine Corps Photos
This post has been updated with additional information from the II MEF.
The Marines have identified the four killed in a MV-22B Osprey that crashed on Friday during a training mission in Arctic Norway.
According to a Sunday release from II Marine Expeditionary Force, The four Marines were assigned to “Raging Bulls” of Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 261 based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C.
They are:
- Capt. Matthew J. Tomkiewicz of Fort Wayne, Ind.
- Capt. Ross A. Reynolds of Leominster, Mass.
- Gunnery Sgt. James W. Speedy of Cambridge, Ohio
- Cpl. Jacob M. Moore of Catlettsburg, Ky.
“The deceased Marines were successfully removed from the crash site and are in the process of being returned to the U.S.,” reads a Sunday statement from II Marine Expeditionary Force.
“The deceased will be reunited with their families through dignified transfer in the coming days.”
The Osprey was reported missing after it failed to arrive at Norwegian Air Force Base Bodø by 6 p.m. (1 p.m. East Coast time), according to the Armed Forces and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre of Northern Norway.
Norwegian search aircraft, including a rescue helicopter from the airbase and a Royal Norwegian Air Force P-3C Orion maritime surveillance aircraft, found a suspected crash site but could not reach the location by air and local rescue crews had to reach the site from the ground.
Chief of Staff in the Nordland police district Bent Are Eilertsen told Norwegian news outlet VG, they had discovered the crash site of the missing Osprey, that had been on a training mission in Nordland County to the south of the airbase, near the Gråtådalen in Beiarn municipality.
“Police reached the crash site at around 0130 CET [8:30 p.m. East Coast time, Friday]. It is regrettably confirmed that all four onboard the plane have perished,” Ivar Bo Nilsson, head of the operation for Nordland police, said in a statement.
Norwegian Chief of Defence, General Eirik Kristoffersen confirmed the four aboard were American service members in a Saturday statement.
“Yesterday afternoon I was notified that an American aircraft was missing and had not arrived in Bodø according to the original plan. I feared the worst, but hoped for a long time for better news”, says Norwegian Chief of Defence, General Eirik Kristoffersen.
“The search and rescue operation found what was an accident site. It has now sadly been confirmed that the crew onboard the American aircraft died in the accident. My thoughts go to the crew’s family, friends and colleagues. I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in the search and rescue operation.”
“What we have been told is that it is an American plane with Americans on board. We have found a plane that crashed in the mountains,” Eilertsen told VG.
II MEF said it was, “aware of a mishap involving a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey assigned to II MEF in Norway on March 18, 2022. The incident is currently being assessed,” in a Friday statement.
“Norwegian civil authorities are leading the search and rescue efforts at this time. We are grateful for their efforts and will assist them in the search and rescue in all manners possible.”
The North Carolina-based II MEF is one of several U.S. units participating in the Cold Weather exercise in Norway. More than 30,000 troops from 27 countries are taking part in the exercise.
The crash is under investigation by the Marines and Norwegian officials.
The following are the complete bios issued on March, 20, 2022.
Capt. Matthew J. Tomkiewicz served as an MV-22B Osprey pilot with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, Marine Aircraft Group 26, 2d Marine Aircraft Wing stationed on Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina. Tomkiewicz, 27, from Fort Wayne, Indiana, joined the Marine Corps June 18, 2015. Tomkiewicz’ decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
Capt. Ross A. Reynolds served as an MV-22B Osprey pilot with Marine
Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, Marine Aircraft Group 26, 2d Marine Aircraft
Wing stationed on Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina. Reynolds, 27, from Leominster, Mass., joined the Marine Corps May 13, 2017. Reynolds’ decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and multiple certificates and letters of appreciation.
Gunnery Sgt. James W. Speedy served as an administrative specialist with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, Marine Aircraft Group 26, 2d Marine Aircraft Wing stationed on Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina. Speedy, 30, from Cambridge, Ohio, joined the Marine Corps June 15, 2009. Speedy’s decorations include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with two gold stars, the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, the Marine Corps Drill Instructor Ribbon, and multiple certificates and
letters of appreciation.
Cpl. Jacob M. Moore served as an MV-22B Osprey crew chief with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, Marine Aircraft Group 26, 2d Marine Aircraft Wing stationed on Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina. Moore, 24, from Catlettsburg, Kentucky, joined the Marine Corps August 20, 2018. Moore’s decorations include the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
