US Marine from California identified as one of 4 people killed in plane crash

The body of a victim is covered with a blanket as members of security forces stand around wreckage of airplane in a rice field in Maguindanao del Sur province

A U.S. Marine from California was identified by military officials Sunday as one of four people killed when a plane contracted by the U.S. military crashed in a rice field in the southern Philippines.

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.” MDT/AP