The US service member killed in a surveillance flight plane crash in the Philippines last week alongside three defense contractors was identified as a young Marine from California who had been promoted just five days before his tragic death.
Sgt. Jacob M. Durham, 22, of Long Beach, died on Thursday after the plane he was on crashed in a rice field in the southern Philippines.
The plane, which was contracted by the US Military, was carrying Durham and three defense contractors. The cause of the crash is still under investigation, officials said.
The aircraft 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.
Durham was trained as an electronic intelligence and electromagnetic warfare analyst assigned to the 1st Radio Battalion, I Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, officials said.
He first enlisted in January 2021 and was promoted to his current rank on Feb. 1 — mere days before the fatal crash.
Durham was a decorated Marine honored with awards like 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. He was deeply respected and loved by his fellow Marines,” Lt. Col. Mabel B. Annunziata, commanding officer of the 1st Radio Battalion, said in the statement.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines confirmed the crash of a light plane in Maguindanao del Sur province. Four bodies were recovered in the wreckage in Ampatuan town, said Ameer Jehad Tim Ambolodto, a safety officer for the province.
US forces have been stationed in a Philippine military camp in the country’s south for decades in an effort to help Filipino forces combat Muslim militants. It is a majority Roman Catholic nation with a Muslim minority.
On Thursday, Windy Beaty, a provincial disaster-mitigation officer, told The Associated Press that residents reported smoke sightings coming from the plane shortly before an explosion was heard and the aircraft began its downward spiral. It crashed about half a mile from a group of farmhouses, Beaty said.
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