Air Force Capt. Thomas J. Gramith

Remember Our Heroes

Air Force Capt. Thomas J. Gramith, 27, of Eagan, Minn.

Capt. Gramith was assigned to the 336th Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.; died July 17, 2009 in an F-15E crash near Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. Also killed was Capt. Mark R. McDowell.

Pioneer Press -- An Air Force captain from Eagan has been killed in a fighter jet crash in eastern Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced today.

Capt. Thomas J. Gramith, 27, of Eagan, died Friday when his F-15E Strike Eagle crashed near Ghazni Province.

Also killed was Capt. Mark R. McDowell, 26, of Colorado Springs, Colo.

Both men were assigned to the 336th Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.

A military spokesman at the base said the crash was not caused by enemy fire.

"Right now, there's an investigation going on to determine the crash, however, we know the enemy didn't do it," Staff Sgt. Shawn Jones said. "We just don't know yet the specific cause of the incident."

The crash happened about 3:15 a.m. while Gramith and McDowell were providing air support to ground troops, Jones said.

News of Gramith's death comes just three days after three Minnesota soldiers were killed in a missile attack near Basra, Iraq.

The three members of the Minnesota National Guard 34th Red Bull Infantry Division were Spc. Carlos Wilcox, 27, of Cottage Grove; Spc. Daniel Drevnick, 22, of Woodbury; and Spc. James Wertish, 20, of Olivia. They were killed Thursday.

Their deaths bring the death toll of Minnesota military in Iraq to 63.

There will be a vigil for the guardsmen at 6 tonight at the Stillwater Veterans Memorial, located at Third and Pine Streets in downtown Stillwater. It is being organized by the Yellow Ribbon Network of Washington County and is open to the public.

Air Force Capt. Thomas J. Gramith was killed in action on 7/17/09.