President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, salute as a U.S. Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Pvt. Isabella Gonzales of Carrollton, Texas, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The Air Force is reviewing the case of a Gold Star widow from Alabama who wrote on social media that she was deemed ineligible for additional benefits following her husband’s death because Congress had not officially declared the military operations in Iran a war.
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A spokesperson for the Air Force said in a statement that military officials spoke Monday with Libby Klinner, the wife of Maj. John Alexander Klinner, who was one of six service members killed when an aircraft crashed in Iraq during a refueling mission on March 12. The spokesperson added the Air Force wanted to ensure Klinner received “all eligible benefits she and her family are entitled to.”
“We remain committed to providing clear information and continued support to Mrs. Klinner, as well as all the families of the Airmen who died in the KC-135 crash,” the spokesperson’s statement said.
Libby Klinner said on her Instagram account over the weekend that her casualty assistance officer had informed her she would not receive additional benefits following her husband’s death “because we have not declared war.” Klinner said the extra benefits “missing” from her husband’s final paycheck were combat-pay related.
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“So not only was my husband killed in a war he never wanted to participate in,” she wrote, “but now the benefits we’re left with are being dictated by semantics and public perception.”
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Two days later, Klinner said the director of mortuary affairs informed her the Air Force was “initiating an audit on our benefits to ensure that we receive all that we are entitled to.”
The Air Force spokesperson said in a statement that they are “committed to addressing her concerns with care and respect,” but did not elaborate on why Klinner was initially told she was not entitled to the extra benefits. The Air Force did not answer questions on whether other Gold Star families have also experienced similar issues.
Military operations in Iran have spanned six months with no clear end in sight. At least 14 service members, including Klinner, have died, and more than 400 troops have been wounded in action as part of Operation Epic Fury.
The Pentagon does not count the deaths of four additional service members, all of whom were killed during an Iranian ballistic missile attack in Jordan in late July, as part of the operation’s fatality toll.
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