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Sgt. Jacob M. Durham, 22, of Long Beach, died Thursday in the
crash of an aircraft that was conducting a routine mission
“providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
support at the request of our Philippine allies,” officials at
Camp Pendleton, California, said in a statement. Officials said
the cause of the crash was under investigation.
Three defense contractors also were killed in the crash,
military officials have said.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines confirmed the
crash of a light plane in Maguindanao del Sur province. The
bodies of the four people were retrieved from the wreckage in
Ampatuan town, said Ameer Jehad Tim Ambolodto, a safety officer
of Maguindanao del Sur.
U.S. forces have been deployed in a Philippine military camp in
the country’s south for decades to help provide training and
advice to Filipino forces battling Muslim militants. The region
is home to minority Muslims in the largely Roman Catholic
nation.
Windy Beaty, a provincial disaster-mitigation officer, told The
Associated Press on Thursday that she received reports that
residents saw smoke coming from the plane and heard an explosion
before the aircraft plummeted to the ground less than a
kilometer (about half a mile) from a cluster of farmhouses.
Durham was trained as an electronic intelligence/electromagnetic
warfare analyst assigned to 1st Radio Battalion, I Marine
Expeditionary Force Information Group, officials said. He joined
the Marines in January 2021 and was promoted to his current rank
on Feb. 1.
Durham's awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation
Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service
Medal, a Meritorious Mast, and Naval Aircrew Insignia, officials
said.
“Sgt. Durham embodied the highest traditions of the Marine Corps
— exemplifying composure, intelligence, and selfless
leadership," Lt. Col. Mabel B. Annunziata, commanding officer of
1st Radio Battalion, said in the statement. “He was deeply
respected and loved by his fellow Marines.”
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