A fundraiser<\/a> was launched to support Savino’s family in the wake of her death.<\/p>\nOver the weekend, many took to social media expressing their shock and sadness over Savino’s passing, including former flight instructors in the Air Force and those who knew her personally.<\/p>\n
That includes Kierstyn Peterson, who bonded with Savino during their years at Kentwood High School in Covington, as the two faced the rigors of Junior ROTC.<\/p>\n
“When we were in ROTC, she was somebody that, she may have been younger, but I did look up to her a lot as an inspiration,” she said as she reflected on Savino, who was in the class before her, “She most definitely was someone who made an impact; she will leave footsteps on your heart, that’s for sure,” Frederick added.<\/p>\n
She says that Savino was an uplifting spirit, who was a go-getter that wanted to excel and motivate others to do so as well.<\/p>\n
“She really loved her friends. She loved her school. She loved everybody that she was ever in contact with,”<\/p>\n
Peterson stated that Savino was always proud to be herself, and wanted to represent her family’s heritage.<\/p>\n
“She was very, very proud of being Puerto Rican,” Peterson explained, “She talked about her family and her heritage and traditions a lot.”<\/p>\n
The news of her passing, now striking Peterson and those who grew up in the Covington area.<\/p>\n
“Everyone that we knew all from, gosh, my entire high school career, almost everybody knew her, all of us. And a lot of us still, a lot of everyone still lives in Covington,” Peterson said, “It’s so sad, I feel for their family and, you know, your heart breaks,” she added.<\/p>\n
Government officials weigh in on Savino’s passing:<\/p>\n
\u201cI am heartbroken to learn about the passing of Capt. Ariana G. Savino from Washington state. I am deeply grateful for her courage and sacrifice in service to our country. Our servicemembers put their lives on the line to keep our country safe\u2014remarkable women like Capt. Savino represent the absolute best of our state and country,” said Senator Patty Murray.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also want to express my sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones of Capt. Savino and join them in mourning her loss. I, of course, also extend my condolences to the families and loved ones of the other five brave Air Force Airmen we lost in this tragic incident. As we mourn the passing of these heroes, we must remember our commitment to honor them not only with words but by supporting the families they leave behind. The families and friends of Capt. Savino are in my thoughts during this difficult time,” Murray continued. <\/p>\n
8th District Rep. Kim Schrier stated, “I am heartbroken to learn that Captain Ariana G. Savino, 31, of Covington, was one of the brave service members who died in the plane crash over Iraq. Ariana chose a life of service for which I am profoundly grateful. I send my deepest condolences to her family and loved ones, and pray for the safety of all our service members.”<\/p>\n
Congressman Michael Baumgartner said, “We mourn all of our nation\u2019s heroes who make the ultimate sacrifice protecting us. It hits particularly close to home when those service members are from Washington state. May Ariana Savino rest in peace, may perpetual light shine upon her, and may her family and friends be comforted at this difficult time.”<\/p>\n
The following Air Force Airmen died in the crash, along with Savino:<\/p>\n
Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, of AlabamaTech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of KentuckyCapt. Seth R. Koval, 38, of IndianaCapt. Curtis J. Angst, 30 of OhioTech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28 of Ohio<\/p>\n
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COVINGTON, Wash. \u2014 The family and friends of U.S. Air Force Capt. Ariana Savino are remembering the Washington…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":526432,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-526431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=526431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/526432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=526431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=526431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=526431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}