Helms, Ian Keltan

Also known as: CAPT, 34TH BOMB SQUADRON, ELLSWORTH AFB, SD (ACC)

Combatant

Male Verified

DiedMarch 31, 2016

Age30 years old

Location of DeathBETHESDA, UNITED STATES

Cause of DeathDied of wounds sustained in a combat-related incident in the U.S. Central Command area of operations.

Conflict Operation Inherent Resolve

Captain Ian Keltan Helms, 30, of Mililani, Hawaii, was a U.S. Air Force officer serving with the 34th Bomb Squadron. He died on March 31, 2016, in Bethesda, Maryland, from wounds sustained in combat.

Their Story

Ian Keltan Helms grew up in Mililani, Hawaii. He served as a captain in the United States Air Force, assigned to the 34th Bomb Squadron, 28th Bomb Wing, based at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. The squadron operates B-1B Lancer strategic bombers.

According to the Department of Defense, Captain Helms died on March 31, 2016, at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. He had been medically evacuated from the U.S. Central Command area of operations after being wounded in a combat-related incident. The specific details of the incident that caused his wounds were not publicly released by the Pentagon.

Helms was serving in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led military intervention against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria. The operation began in August 2014 following major ISIS territorial gains. U.S. and coalition airpower, including B-1B bombers from units like the 34th Bomb Squadron, conducted thousands of airstrikes against ISIS targets.

The Air Force confirmed Helms's death in a press release on April 1, 2016. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of major. His awards reportedly included the Purple Heart and the Air Medal.

Major Helms was interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. He is remembered on memorial pages maintained by his squadron and the Air Force.