DOVER, DE — On Wednesday, Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) joined President Donald J. Trump for the dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base for six service members killed in action during Operation Epic Fury.
MacDill Air Force Base/Ohio National Guard.
Footage from Senator Banks and President Trump’s arrival at Dover AFB here.
All six crew members of a KC-135 Air Force refueling aircraft were killed in a plane crash over western Iraq on March 12, 2026.
The Department of War identified Captain Seth R. Koval, a 38-year-old Purdue graduate from Mooresville, Indiana, as one of the fallen. Captain Koval’s military career began in 2006 when he enlisted as a machinist with the 122nd Fighter Wing of the Indiana Air National Guard in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Most recently, he served as a KC-135 Instructor Pilot assigned to the 166th Air Refueling Squadron, 121st Air Refueling Wing, at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio.
Capt. Koval is survived by his wife Heather and their young son, his parents Robert and Debora Koval, his brother Caleb Koval, and his sister Hayley Koval.
Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) said, “Captain Seith Koval and the five other service members who gave their lives made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. Their courage and selflessness will never be forgotten. I am keeping his loved ones in my prayers, asking for comfort and strength in the midst of this profound loss, and I am praying for the safety of all those who continue to put their lives on the line to defend our country.”
