N.J. Marine Among 16 Killed In Military Plane Crash

COLTS NECK, NJ — A Colts Neck man has been identified as one of the 16 people killed in a military plane crash in a Mississippi field Monday night, according to a report and friends.

Dan Baldassare, 20, a U.S. Marine Corps crewmaster and 2015 graduate of Colts Neck High School, was aboard the KC-130 that went down in a soybean field 85 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi, according to Pix11.com.

Baldassare was one of 15 Marines on the flight, a training flight from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina to El Centro, California, to transport personnel and equipment, according to a report by WHNT.com, a Mississippi television station. A Navy sailor was the 16th person who died, reports have said.

Several friends of Baldassare posted on social about the Marine's death on Tuesday.

"R.I.P Dan Baldassare. I grew up with him in Colts Neck. He was one of my best friends growing up. Such a horrible loss. RIP buddy. Thank you for serving this amazing country," Dylan Reilly wrote on Facebook.

"Rest in Peace Dan Baldassare. It pains me so much to lose another Marine I knew in such a short time. Praying for you and your family," wrote Jake Welch.

Baldassare was a tight end and a linebacker on the Colts Neck football team. Teacher Nicole Ives posted as well: "My thoughts and prayers go out to the Baldassare family!! Dan Baldassare was a former student of mine and was a wonderful young man!! Thank you to Dan and all the men and women serving our country!!"

Baldassare and two others who were killed in the crash were based out of Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, Sgt. Julian Kevianne and Staff Sgt. Joshua Snowden also have been identified by family and friends as among the crash victims and based at Stewart, according to the Daily Mail. Gunnery Sgt. Brendan Johnson also has been identified by family as among the crash victims, that report said.

READ MORE: Mississippi Military Plane Crash Leaves At Least 16 Dead

The plane had been taking seven members of the North Carolina-based Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command and their equipment "for routine small unit pre-deployment training at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz. All seven were from the Camp Lejeune-based 2nd Marine Raider Battalion," Lohud.com reported, quoting the Marine Forces Reserve.

The plane was an extended-range tanker that was part of the Stewart-based Marine Aerial Refueling and Transport Squadron 452, Marine Air Group-49, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, which is part of the Marine Forces Reserve headquartered in New Orleans.

Photo of Dan Baldassare via U.S. Marine Corps