When Maj. John “Alex” Klinner left for his mission in the Middle East, his wife Libby never imagined that she would one day have to fight simply to make sure her family received everything he had earned through his service.

Alex, 33, was one of six crew members aboard a KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft that crashed in western Iraq in March while supporting U.S. operations in the region. He was killed in the crash, leaving behind his wife and their three young children.

For Libby, the loss was already impossible to comprehend. Then came another painful chapter.

As she worked through the complicated military paperwork following her husband’s death, Libby said she was initially told that Alex would not qualify for certain combat-related benefits because the United States was not technically considered to be at war.

That explanation stunned her.

“My husband lost his life because we’re in a war,” Libby told The Associated Press.

She eventually shared her frustration publicly on social media. The post quickly gained national attention and prompted military officials to review the situation.

The Air Force later contacted Libby and acknowledged that some information she had initially received was inaccurate. Officials clarified that Alex’s final pay included the combat-related hazard pay and tax benefits for which he was eligible.

The issue was not simply about money for Libby. She said it was about honoring what her husband had given and making sure other military families would not face the same confusion while grieving.

Alex had served in the Air Force for eight years. After his death, a GoFundMe campaign established for Libby and their three children raised more than $1.5 million as people rallied around the family.

Now Libby is trying to turn her own painful experience into something that could help others.

She said she knows she has a strong support system and a public platform that allowed her to speak up. Many grieving military families, she noted, may not have those same resources.

“If I can do anything to make this awful situation a little bit easier for someone else,” she said, she is willing to do it.

For the Klinner family, Alex’s story is no longer only about the aircraft crash that took his life.

It is also about the wife and three children he left behind — and a mother determined to make sure that his sacrifice, and the promises made to the families of those who serve, are never forgotten.

Course: NY Post