Downed Fighter Pilot Was Recently Married Latter-day Saint

[smac97]

Here:

Quote

Kenneth Gary Allen has been identified as the American Air Force pilot who was killed during a routine training exercise in Great Britain on June 15, 2020. He was a newlywed and, according to a search of online records, turned 27 years old the day before the crash. 
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Allen was stationed at the Royal Air Force Lakenheath base located near Suffolk, England, and was part of the 48th Fighter Wing. He was flying an F-15C Eagle fighter jet when he crashed into the North Sea during the morning drill. The Air Force has not released details about what caused the crash or whether Allen issued a distress call. It was also not clear whether he ejected from the aircraft.
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Allen married the love of his life right before he deployed to RAF Lakenheath. His widow, Hannah, wrote on Facebook that they had a civil ceremony on February 20, 2020. She explained they had originally planned to have a religious ceremony on May 23 but the date was pushed back due to the coronavirus. Allen’s widow wrote in April that she and Allen were excited to celebrate their union with friends and family in the future and that they were “grateful to have each other, even if half a world apart.”

Upon receiving the news that Allen had passed away, his widow described him as the “perfect” man, her best friend, and that he was “Christ-like in how he cared for others.” She also wrote that she felt grateful to have known him for the time that she did. “I feel beyond blessed to have loved him in this life and can’t wait to love him for eternity.”

In the statement about Allen’s death, the Air Force also said Allen was survived by his parents. According to the organization Follow the Flag, Allen grew up in northern Utah. The group wrote on Facebook that Allen would receive “a true hero’s welcome upon his return.”

Allen and his wife, Hannah, appear to have been members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In her Facebook post announcing they had tied the knot in a civil ceremony, Hannah explained that her “Stake President” performed the civil ceremony. The Mormon church describes this person as a volunteer who helps to oversee “Church programs in a defined geographic area composed of individual congregations.”

Hannah Allen also wrote about looking forward to getting “sealed in the temple.” 
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On his public Facebook page, Allen shared a photo from Valparaiso, Chile, in December 2014. He wrote that he was in South America for his mission and that while there he helped to “clear land from some big fires that took place.” Young men typically participate in volunteer missions for two years in the Mormon church. Allen appears to have been become fluent in Spanish while she was in Chile. He frequently responded to friends in Spanish on his Facebook page.

It sounds like we lost a good person.  My condolences to his family.

Thanks,

-Smac

[Tacenda]

I hate news like this. Such a beautiful life that was stripped away.

[Kenngo1969]

I cannot, of course, offer any words that will ease the pain of those he left behind (albeit temporarily), but when they are reunited, that will be quite the reunion, I'm sure.

[Tacenda]

Saw on my FB feed last night a video of the fighter pilot singing the song by Jim Groce, "Time in a Bottle". Jim Groce died young as well. It seemed uncanny that this young man would sing this just a few days before his death, to his wife.  If I find the video I'll share.

[JAHS]

38 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

Saw on my FB feed last night a video of the fighter pilot singing the song by Jim Groce, "Time in a Bottle". Jim Groce died young as well. It seemed uncanny that this young man would sing this just a few days before his death, to his wife.  If I find the video I'll share.

The video is at the following new story:
https://www.stripes.com/news/europe/he-was-the-love-of-my-life-air-force-pilot-who-died-in-f-15-crash-remembered-for-his-kindness-and-faith-1.633928

Edited June 17, 2020 by JAHS