Nearly 14 years after an Air Force Osprey crashed near Qalat, Afghanistan, due to a mechanical issue, two airmen who died in the accident will be honored by the service.
Maj. Randell Voas and Senior Master Sgt. James Lackey will posthumously be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Force Operations Command announced last week.
Investigators said an unknown mechanical malfunction occurred causing an emergency landing. Voas and Lackey's actions on April 9, 2010, saved the lives of two other crew members and 14 other passengers on the Osprey, the service said. In addition to Voas and Lackey, an Army Ranger and a civilian contractor also died as a result of the crash.
The news of the awards comes as the service currently grapples with a deadly CV-22 crash that killed eight airmen off the coast of Japan late last year, and as the services struggle to find mechanical fixes for the Osprey.
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Maddeline Voas, who was 16 when her father died and is now 30, said her family is grateful for the honor even though it invokes painful memories. She recalled being woken up when she heard her mother cry as news of her father's death was delivered by military personnel.
“I think it's going to feel really wonderful and just really fulfilling for our family for my dad to receive that,” Maddeline Voas said in a phone interview. “In…
