Zanetis, Christopher Tripp

Also known as: MAJ, 101ST RESCUE SQUADRON, FRANCIS S. GABRESKI ANGB, NY (ACC)

Combatant

Male Verified

DiedMarch 15, 2018

Age37 years old

Location of DeathNEAR AL ASAD AB, IRAQ

Cause of DeathKilled in a non-combat related HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter crash during a transport mission.

Conflict Operation Inherent Resolve

Maj. Christopher Tripp Zanetis, 37, of Long Island City, New York, was a member of the U.S. Air Force's 101st Rescue Squadron. He was killed in a helicopter crash near Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, on March 15, 2018.

Their Story

Maj. Christopher Tripp Zanetis was a pararescueman, or PJ, with the New York Air National Guard's 106th Rescue Wing, based at Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base. A graduate of Stanford University and New York University School of Law, he had worked as a litigation attorney in Manhattan before his death. He had previously deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq as a pararescueman, a role specializing in combat search and rescue.

On March 15, 2018, a U.S. military HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter crashed near Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq's Anbar province. The aircraft was on a routine transport mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. All seven U.S. service members on board were killed. The U.S. Department of Defense stated the crash was not due to enemy fire, and an investigation was launched.

Zanetis was killed during Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led coalition campaign against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria. By early 2018, ISIS had lost most of its territorial holdings but remained a threat, with coalition forces continuing operations to clear remaining pockets of fighters and support local forces.

Following the crash, the 106th Rescue Wing held a memorial service at Gabreski Air National Guard Base. Zanetis was posthumously promoted from captain to the rank of major. His name is inscribed on the Pararescue Memorial at the Air Force Special Operations Command headquarters in Florida and on a memorial at Stanford University.

In addition to his military service, Zanetis was remembered as a volunteer firefighter with the New York City Fire Department's Engine 28/Ladder 11 in Manhattan. His family established a scholarship in his name at his former high school, the Trinity School in Manhattan.