Body Of Marine Captain Ross Reynolds, Killed In Norway Crash, Expected To Return To Massachusetts Next Week
LEOMINSTER (CBS) -- The body of Marine Captain Ross Reynolds, a 27-year-old pilot from Leominster killed in a helicopter crash overseas, is expected to return to Massachusetts some time next week.
Reynolds will be laid to rest in Massachusetts.
He was one of four Marines killed last Friday when an Osprey helicopter crashed during a NATO training exercise in Norway.
The other Marines were identified as Captain Matthew Tomkiewicz, 27, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Gunnery Sargent James Speedy, 30, of Cambridge, Ohio; and Corporal Jacob Moore, 24, of Catlettsburg, Kentucky.
Reynolds, an Osprey pilot, joined the Marine Corps in May 2017. The training mission last Friday was not related to the war in Ukraine.
Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella says the city is preparing to give Captain Ross a hero's welcome.
About 40 volunteers gathered at the Leominster Veterans Center Friday night. They were hand-making red, white and blue ribbons in honor of the Captain Reynolds.
"Doing something like this, and making ribbons, is our way of giving back, right? It's tough, for everyone in the community," Mazzarella said. "It's a tight community."
The ribbons will be tied to trees and light poles leading up to the soldier's family home before he returns to Massachusetts.
"These are the kind of things that will get them through the tough days," said Mazzarella, who has known Reynolds since he was a young boy.
The volunteers know their sadness is just a fraction of what his family must be feeling.
"It's heartbreaking. He's a young boy who served in the military, did what he wanted to do to be a pilot. It just brings out emotions in me," said Deb Toivones.
They hope the ribbons will be a subtle reminder that they're not grieving alone. "We're a community that helps each other," Toivones said.
More than 100 of the ribbons have been handmade by the community in hopes that it will be the comfort Captain Reynolds' family needs as this soldier returns home.
During his time with the Marines, Reynolds was decorated with the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.