The families of American soldiers who died in the US-Israel war against Iran are fighting to ensure they will receive the salaries and benefits due to their loved ones. The case of a widow has gone viral. Libby Klinner wrote on social media that the US Air Force deemed her ineligible for additional benefits following the death of Major Alex Klinner, her 33-year-old husband, because Congress had not officially declared war, reports The Telegraph.
He was one of the six crew members of a KC-135 refueling plane that crashed in western Iraq in March, while supporting US attacks against Iran. Since the beginning of the war with Iran, now more than six months ago, 18 American soldiers have been killed and 780 injured.
“My husband lost his life because we are at war – and then I was told that, technically speaking, it’s not a war, we lose something,” Mrs. Klinner told the Associated Press. “It all comes down to a matter of principle.”
After expressing her frustration in an online post that went viral, the US Air Force clarified that her husband’s last salary included the combat risk allowance and tax benefits related to combat.
American officials also acknowledged that they initially provided inaccurate information and that her husband’s last salary included – but was incorrectly detailed – the “combat allowance”, which amounts to 225 dollars per month and was not conditional on an official declaration of war.
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