Ohio
‘It stays with you forever,’ VFW extends support for Ohio servicemen killed overseas
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — For millions of veterans and active service members across Ohio, time stood still following a deadly refueling crash in Iraq that claimed the lives of six U.S. servicemembers.
Among those killed were Capt. Seth Koval of Fairfield County, Capt. Curtis Angst, and Master Sgt. Tyler Simmons of Columbus, assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base.
They, along with three members of the 6th Air Refueling Wing from MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, were killed when a KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq.
The base is deeply familiar to retired Army Colonel Rick Curry, a Quartermaster with Ohio’s Veterans of Foreign War.
“When you lose somebody under your command, it stays with you forever,” Curry told ABC 6 Thursday.
Master Sgt. Simmons. Simmons has several relatives a part of the Whitehall VFW chapter, according to VFW.
“They were shocked, his parents are devastated,” Curry said. “The young man looked like he had a promising career.”
As the community mourns, local VFW members are emphasizing their mission: ‘No one does more for Veterans.’
“You may not support the war, but you need to support the veterans,” Curry said. “We need to support the ones who are protecting us.”
The VFW is in the process of setting up a relief fund to directly assist the families of the fallen servicemen based in Ohio. The VFW was founded in 1899 in Columbus. It was established by veterans to secure rights and benefits for returning soldiers who lacked medical care and support.
ABC 6 asked Curry if he believed the support for veterans was strong enough in Central Ohio.
“We have many systems in place that support us, but some are better than others,” he responded. “We have a very good VA here in Columbus. The emotional support is never enough. Many veterans have seen or done a lot of things that they keep inside. And you just don’t have enough avenues sometimes.”
The Ohio Air National Guard confirmed the servicemen’s remains could be transferred back to Ohio within the next few weeks. Plans for a ceremony at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base are still being finalized.
Click here to support the VFW and its efforts to assist the Koval, Angst, and Simmons families.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol arrested online political writer D.J. Byrnes, also known as The Rooster, at the statehouse on June 1 on a misdemeanor warrant.
A patrol spokesman said Byrnes, who posts his stories to his Substack subscribers, was arrested on an outstanding warrant. He was booked into the Franklin County Jail, records show. The patrol did not provide further details.
Byrnes’ colleague, Max Littman, said he believes the arrest is related to Byrnes texting photos of cartoon character Shrek’s penis to a state senator. “If that is in fact true, that he was arrested over that, then it’s blatant targeting a political opponent and journalist,” Littman said.
The arrest warrant for telecommunications harassment came from the city of Kirtland in Lake County. The warrant alleges that Byrnes sent two photos on May 6 to “J.C.” with the intent to harass.
State Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, did not return messages seeking comment.
Byrnes routinely works the halls power at Columbus City Hall, Ohio State University and the Ohio Statehouse, looking for tips and ambushing officeholders for his Substack reports. He can be both charming and confrontational.
Recently, he posted a story based on one anonymous source who told him that Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy tried to get into the New York Knicks locker room after the Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA playoffs.
The story, and its spread, so bothered Ramaswamy that he posted a lengthy refute on X, calling it 100% fake.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — A bird rarely seen in North America was apparently spotted in Northeast Ohio of all places recently.
A lesser frigatebird was seen flying over Sippo Lake near Canton, according to several bird enthusiasts and photographers.
A photographer named Alex Eberts was kind enough to share his photos with ABC 6. You can see them at the top of this page.
Another photographer named Austin Rice posted this photo on Instagram and shared the details of what he saw on the night of May 23 in Stark County.
If you don’t know much about the lesser frigatebird, a site called eBird.com offers this description:
The smallest of the frigatebirds, but note that the female is larger than the male. Adults are easier to identify than younger birds. Adult males are almost entirely black with a red throat and white spurs emanating outwards from the body onto the wing. Adult females have a black belly and throat, a white breast and hind collar, with similar white spurs on their sides. Juvenile and immature plumages are variable and are best separated from other frigatebirds by size when comparison is possible. Mostly silent except while breeding in oceanic islands. Strongly pelagic during non-breeding season but wind-blown or fatigued birds can be found from continental coasts.
Eberts said in his own Facebook post that the May 23 sighting in Stark County was only the seventh reported sighting of the lesser frigatebird in the contiguous United States. The bird is more likely to be seen near the Indian Ocean, the Southeast Asian seas, Northern Australia to Western and Central Pacific Ocean, according to birdsoftheworld.org.
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