Mourners line streets to honor New Hampshire Marine killed in helicopter crash
DOVER, N.H. - Mourners lined the streets of Dover, New Hampshire on Tuesday to pay respect to a fallen hero. Marine Capt. Jack Casey's body returned home, weeks after he and four other Marines were killed in a California helicopter crash.
The 26-year-old's body arrived at Pease Air National Guard Base, where a motorcade procession brought him to a funeral home. Along the way, there was a large turnout outside the St. Thomas Aquinas High School, where Casey graduated from in 2015.
The school plans to hold visitation services for Casey on Friday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. A funeral mass will be said Saturday in Rye.
The president of the high school had said Casey was a leader.
"He gave back and lived a life of service," Paul Marquis said. "He left his legacy here and he'll do that across the country."
Casey was commissioned by the Marines in 2019 and promoted to captain in September 2023. His decorations included the National Defense Service Medal.
Training flight crashed during storm
The five Marines were on board a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter for a training flight when it crashed during a storm. They were headed from an Air Force Base in Nevada to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego.
The helicopter's wreckage was found the next day in the mountains east of San Diego and near the Mexico border. The cause of the crash has not yet been revealed.
