 Arizona Central -- Memorial Day will never be the same for the tight-knit family of Air Force Capt. Jeremy Fresques.
 Alongside three fellow soldiers, the 26-year-old commando with Arizona ties - who had been promoted to captain that morning - died Monday in a plane crash during a training mission near Baghdad.
A graduate of the prestigious Air Force Academy in Colorado, Fresques was married for a little more than a year. He lived in Florida with his wife, Lindsey, who is also an officer in the Air Force, said Chuck Shaw, Jeremy's father-in-law.
"They had an excellent marriage, loved each other very much," Shaw said. "He's going to be very sorely missed, and we couldn't have been more proud."
Lindsey Fresques graduated from the University of Colorado-Boulder before joining the Air Force and heading to Florida. The couple worked at bases near Destin, Fla., down the street from each other, Shaw said.
Fresques had been chief of communications and an information officer at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale before transferring to special operations in 2002.
He was set to return home next month after being deployed earlier this year. He and his wife had yet to decide whether they would stay in the military. The couple had no children, Shaw said.
"They were taking it day by day," he said.
Fresques' mother and father lived in Clarkdale, south of Flagstaff, before moving to Yuma. Neither was available for comment Wednesday.
Fresques died when a single-engine Iraqi air force plane crashed during a training mission near Jalula, about 50 miles northeast of Baquba.
The cause of the crash has not been determined, Air Force Master Sgt. Randy Phelps said.
Other Americans killed in the crash were Maj. William Downs, 40, of Winchester, Va.; Capt. Derek Argel, 28, of Lompoc, Calif.; and Staff Sgt. Casey Crate, 26, of Spanaway, Wash. Fresques, Argel and Crate were assigned to the Air Force 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, while Downs was part of the 6th Special Operations Squadron. All were based at Hurlburt Field, Fla.
An Iraqi pilot also died in the crash. |
