Living his dream: Leominster remembers fallen Marine

LEOMINSTER, Mass. — Ross Reynolds not only set his goal early — he achieved it.

“He always, always was talking about joining the service and becoming a pilot,” said Steve Porter, who met Reynolds when he and his son were looking for a Scouting troop to join.

Reynolds, a Leominster native, was one of four Marine Corps officers killed last week, when their plane went down during a training mission in Norway. Ross Reynolds was 27-years-old.

“He was flying the Osprey, which is both a helicopter and an airplane,” said Richard Voutour, Director of Veterans Services in Leominster. “He was flying in the Arctic Circle in dangerous weather conditions.”

Weather may have been the reason for the crash. But whatever investigators eventually conclude, Reynolds’ death leaves a void in Leominster — a city that seems to place a high value on veterans, to wit, along its downtown streets, Leominster displays banners of ‘Hometown Heroes’ — men and women who served in the major wars of the last century.

But the death of Ross Reynolds is a reminder that military service can harbor dangers, even in peacetime.

“I have a son that’s an Air Force pilot, I have a son that’s in the Coast Guard,” Voutour said. “Every day they put that uniform on and they go out and do something, they’re in harm’s way, whether they’re in combat or it’s peacetime. It’s a dangerous business.”

A dangerous business that Reynolds seemed to embrace.

“He had posted recently that becoming a naval aviator was his dream,” Voutour said. “It’s sad that he doesn’t go on to accomplish new things and greater things.”

However, in his short life, Reynolds DID accomplish some great things. For example, he was one of the few young men who stuck with scouting long enough to attain the rank of Eagle Scout.

“An Eagle Scout is something,” Porter said.

He explained it takes 21 medals and a final community service project to be eligible for the honor. “It’s a big deal to become an Eagle Scout. There are not many people who do that.”

In fact, fewer than 10 percent of scouts rise to the Eagle level.

.Porter remembers Reynolds — even as a teenager — as a confident leader.

“That’s the kind of scout that you want or that you expect to see,” he said.

While saddened to hear of Reynolds’ death, Porter found this silver lining:

“He was living his dream,” he said. “There may not be all that many people who can say they are living their dream. and he was. He was doing what he wanted to do.”

CONTINUING COVERAGE:

[ Tributes to U.S. Marine from Leominster who died in a NATO training exercise in Norway ]

[ Leominster native dies in NATO military exercise that killed four U.S. Marines ]

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW