The remains of the two U.S. Navy aviators who died in an EA-18G Growler crash on Oct. 15 will return home from the Dover Air Force Base to their families.
The Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) confirmed the news to KOMO News that the remains of Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay P. Evans and Lt. Serena N. Wileman will be returned this week.
Wileman's remains will arrive at Oak Harbor on Monday around 7 p.m. According to a NASWI spokesperson, Wallin-Stucky Funeral Home will be releasing information regarding plans for the public who wish to gather along the route of Wileman’s return.
Evans’ remains are set to arrive in Anacortes later in the week. The spokesperson said that at the request of her family, the arrival will be a “private affair.”
“The families of both LT Wileman and LCDR Evans wish to express their gratitude for the gracious support from the local and surrounding communities these past weeks,” a spokesperson told KOMO News.
A few weeks ago, the Navy identified the aviators as Wileman and Evans after the two died in an aircraft crash during a "routine training flight" near Mount Rainier.
Evans was a naval flight officer, and Wileman was a naval aviator. Both were 31 years old and from California.
After the aviators were identified, search and rescue efforts were shifted toward recovery operations. On Oct. 16 search crews located wreckage of the aircraft on a “mountainside east of Mount Rainier,” according to Naval Air Station North Island.
Evans and Wileman were "two highly skilled, combat-decorated aviators who tragically lost their lives during a routine training flight," NASWI said in a Facebook post.
President Joe Biden released a statement in October regarding the death of the two U.S. Naval aviators:
"Jill and I mourn the tragic loss of two naval aviators, Lieutenant Commander Lyndsay Evans and Lieutenant Serena Wileman, who were killed when their EA-18G Growler aircraft crashed last Tuesday near Mount Rainier, Washington, during a routine training mission. They were among our nation’s finest and had just recently returned to the United States after an extended deployment to the Middle East, defending against Houthi missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea. We thank the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, and Yakima County Tribal and local authorities for their efforts to locate and recover these two brave and talented young aviators. We pray for their families, loved ones, and squadron mates, and we will always honor their service and sacrifice."
NASWI wrote that Evans and Wileman had recently returned from a nine-month deployment at sea with The Zappers as a part of Carrier Air Wing Three aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Originally Published in KOMO NEWS
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