NEWBURGH – News of a plane crash that claimed the lives of 16 service members is reverberating through the tight-knit community around Stewart Air National Guard Base.
Today, American flags affixed to front porches of numerous homes at the Stewart Terrace development, a privatized housing community in New Windsor affiliated with the base, were lowered.
The suburban community, positioned directly behind the base, was a collection of two-story homes with well-kept lawns.
At the Neptune Diner near the entrance to Stewart, Ann-Marie Rant said Tuesday that many of the customers are military and retired service members.
“You see a lot of respect for the military here,” said Rant, whose family owns the diner.
The extended-range tanker was part of the Stewart-based Marine Aerial Refueling and Transport Squadron (VMGR) 452, Marine Air Group-49, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, which is part of the Marine Forces Reserve headquartered in New Orleans. The local unit is known as “The Yankees” and its patch bears an interlocking N.Y. and pinstripes reminiscent of the baseball team.
In all, 15 Marines and one Navy corpsman died. Officials said that seven of the 16 were from North Carolina.
A pall fell over the base and nearby community Tuesday as details of the crash slowly trickled in. Flowers and U.S. flags were placed near the front entrance to the base, where media from several news organizations gathered throughout the day.
Area residents lamented the event as a tragedy.
“It’s just horrible,” said Fred Decker, a Gardiner resident, “and it hits even harder knowing the local impact.”
Rant, the diner co-owner, said it is not uncommon for patrons to pick up the tab for members of the military when they go to pay their checks.
The names of those killed in the crash have not yet been released, pending family notification. U.S. Marine Forces Reserve spokesman Maj. Andrew Aranda said officials are working through that process.
“That involves a Casualty Assistance Calls officer, and usually they’re accompanied by … a member from the unit and a chaplain, as well,” Aranda said in an interview Tuesday
The cause of the crash, the deadliest Marine plane crash since 2005, still isn’t known. The FBI is assisting with the investigation, as is protocol, but foul play is not suspected.
Stewart is the home of the 105th Airlift Wing, an Air Mobility Command unit of the New York Air National Guard.
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