The Marine Corps has identified the pilot killed March 1 when his F/A-18C Hornet crashed near NAS Fallon as Capt. Reid "Eeyore" Nannen, 32, of Hopedale, Ill.
As Home Post reported last week, Nannen's jet went down on the Fallon Range Training Complex, roughly 70 miles east of NAS Fallon, about 3 p.m. PST on March 1.
According to a Marine Corps news release :
Captain Nannen, who was permanently stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan since Aug. 3, 2012, was on temporary duty to the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center in Fallon, Nev., as a TopGun student.
He was assigned to Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 242, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III MEF.
Nannen was married with four small children. The Bloomington Pantagraph reports Nannen met his wife Sarah when both were students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:
They graduated together in May 2004, were commissioned as Marine and Naval officers, respectively, and married in 2005.
She and the four children, including a 6-week-old, are stationed in Japan.
"Reid was a fighter pilot through and through. He embodied all the qualities of the heroic aviators of old and was the leader of the new generation. His love of flying was surpassed only by his love of family. A devout father of four, his passion for family served as a gleaming example for all to emulate. There was no better husband, father or friend. He touched countless souls during his journey through life and the world is a better place for it."
