Alex is the son-in-law of my first cousin Bob Remmes and his wife, Mary. Alex’s wife is their daughter, Libby. Our family is heartbroken over their loss.
The following is taken from a post by History Files. The writer did a good job putting the details together and noting the sacrifice of the family.
On the morning of March 12, 2026, Maj. John “Alex” Klinner climbed into a KC-135 refueling aircraft over Iraq, doing the quiet work that keeps other pilots alive in the sky.
He had done it countless times before.
Refuel the fighters. Keep the mission moving.
Come home. But this time, he never did.
The aircraft crashed during operations supporting Operation Epic Fury, taking the lives of 6 American service members. Among them was a man who, to the world, wore the uniform of a U.S. Air Force major. But to 1 small house back in Alabama, he was something much bigger.
He was Dad. Alex was an Auburn University graduate, a mechanical engineer, and an airman who had already given 8 years of service to his country. Yet the role he loved most waited at home. A wife who called him her best friend.
A 2.5-year-old child. And 7-month-old twins who will now grow up only hearing stories about their father. Stories about how he jumped up to help anyone. How he could turn any moment into laughter. How he always put others before himself.
His widow wrote the words no family should ever have to write.
“Our world shattered.” The tragedy left a house full of silence where his voice once lived.
But his story did not end in that crash over Iraq. Because every mission he supported…
Every life his aircraft helped keep in the fight… Every memory his children will carry…
All of it still carries the name: Maj. Alex Klinner.
We also mourn the loss of the other members killed in the mid-air collision with another KC-135. The incident is still under investigation, and hopefully, more will be learned about how the collision occurred so that efforts can be made to prevent such collisions in the future.
Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the crew was on a combat mission but flying over friendly territory when the crash happened.
“Please keep these brave airmen, their families, friends and units in your thoughts in the coming hours and days,” Caine said. “Our service members make an incredible sacrifice to go forward and do the things that the nation asks of them. It’s a reminder of the true cost of the dedication and commitment of the joint force.”
At a time when our country is fighting Iran, a rogue long-term and increasingly more dangerous threat to our country, we should expect politicians to at least come together to support our troops. That is not what is happening.
In the last week, there have been four terrorist attacks involving radical Islamists
- The attack in Austin that resulted in three dead
- The ISIS-inspired NYC bomb throwers
- The attack on the Jewish Synagogue, where a preschool was in session
- The Old Dominion University (ODU) attack in which Army LTC Shah, the ROTC Commander, was killed.
In addition, a massive cyber-attack that Iran took credit for happened this week against Stryker Corporation, a major medical technology and device company in America.
The response from some Democrats has been pathetic, including Abigail Spanberger not acknowledging who killed LTC Shah at ODU in her initial post, and the Norfolk District Attorney blaming guns and requesting more gun control for the killing by the known terrorist.
All of these incidents are horrific, and considering that we have been letting unvetted people into the country, there is likely to be more terrorist attacks in the future.
But the ODU shooting is very difficult to understand. The killer had been previously sentenced to prison for 11 years for attempting to provide material support to ISIS. He was released four years early in 2024. The man was a naturalized citizen from Sierra Leone and had served in the national guard. We obviously need a stronger law that would have stripped him of his citizenship and sent him back when he got out of prison.
Only the bravery of a group of ROTC cadets stopped more from dying. They attacked the killer, and one of the cadets pulled out a pocketknife and stabbed him.
In another example of leaders behaving badly while our troops are in harm’s way, on the same day that six service members lost their lives in the KC-135 crash, including Alex Klinner, Governor Pritzker put out a post on X comparing SNAP beneficiaries to our men and women serving in combat.
Pritzker thinks it’s not fair that Trump cut SNAP funding and then served lobster to the troops.
The truth is that Congress passed legislation cutting food stamps to single, able-bodied adults who refuse to work.
And the truth is, surf and turf have been traditions in the military during celebratory and intense times.
From Military.com:
“Deployed dining operations have long included occasional premium meals as a morale measure. Larger bases and ships may serve steak or seafood during holidays, commemorations, or after intensive mission cycles. These meals can carry emotional and symbolic weight because they contrast sharply with routine field rations or austere dining conditions.”
But, Pritzker, who is clueless about the military and lacks any interest in understanding traditions or conditions our troops serve under, and who at no time in his life would have likely qualified for military service because of his weight, had the audacity to call serving one nice meal to the troops fraud, waste, and abuse.
This may be a new low for Governor Pritzker. He has worn out his welcome. It’s well past time for new leadership, and on Tuesday, I am voting for Ted Dabrowski for Governor.