North Carolina

Body of NC native recovered after December fighter jet crash off coast of Japan

TOKYO — The U.S. military has identified three of the bodies recovered after a refueling plane collided with a fighter jet in December off Japan's southern coast, according to WCTI.

Officials said the marines who were recovered are 38-year-old Lt. Col. Kevin R. Herrmann of New Bern, North Carolina, 36-year-old Maj. James M. Brophy of Straatsburgh, New York, and 27-year-old, Staff Sgt. Maximo A. Flores of Surprise, Arizona.

Hermann served in the Marine Corps for 16 years and is survived by his wife and three young daughters.

Officials said the bodies of the men will be given back to their loved ones soon so they can make final arrangements and say their goodbyes.

Five crew members were killed in December when the KC-130 Hercules refueling aircraft they were on collided with an F/A Hornet during regular training. The warplanes crashed into the sea south of Japan's Shikoku island.

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The Marine Corps identified the crew members as Herrmann; Brophy; Flores; Cpl. Daniel E. Baker, 21, of Tremont, Illinois; and Cpl. William C. Ross, 21, of Hendersonville, Tennessee.

The bodies of Cpl. Baker and Cpl. Ross have not been recovered.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

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