Staff Sgt. Jacob “Jake” Galliher, a native of Pittsfield, Mass., was among eight members of the Air Force missing following the crash of an CV-22 Osprey off the coast of Japan on Wednesday. His body was recovered on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023 (Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook)
(Tribune News Service) — The body of the 24-year-old U.S. Air Force member from Pittsfield, Mass., who died when his aircraft went down near Japan in November will be returned to Massachusetts on Friday, and the public is invited to attend the motorcade procession planned in his honor in the Berkshires.
Jacob “Jake” Galliher was killed on Nov. 29, along with six of the seven other airmen aboard the lost CV-22, whose bodies have been recovered as of Dec. 14. The eighth airman is still missing and is presumed dead, the Air Force said.
Galliher was a 2017 graduate of Taconic High School in Pittsfield and “a deeply beloved member of this community,” the city said in its repatriation announcement.
He and his wife, Ivy Groshong-Galliher and their 2-year-old and 7-week-old sons, had lived on a military base in Japan prior to his death. His best friend, currently on active duty in Kadena, Japan, Victor “Tito” Cervantes, said he and Galliher had a “brotherly bond” and shared some of Groshong-Galliher’s words.
“Jacob is one of the strongest people I have ever known, he cared deeply for everyone he met and was constantly trying to get smiles and laughs out of people,” his wife wrote, according to the GoFundMe established by Cervantes.
Galliher’s body will arrive at Westover Air Force Base at approximately 12:45 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 15, the city said.
Members of the public looking to pay their respects are invited to line the streets along the route beginning at 3 p.m. in Lee and at 3:30 p.m. in Pittsfield. Arrival times are subject to change and updates will be shared on the City Hall — City of Pittsfield Facebook page.
Members of the public can pick up flags after 12 p.m. on Thursday at the following locations in Pittsfield:
City Hall at 70 Allen St.
Department of Veteran’s Services at the Senior Center, at 330 North St.
Pittsfield Fire Department Headquarters at 74 Columbus Ave.
Colonial Theatre at 111 South St.
The motorcade procession will travel from the airport onto the Massachusetts Turnpike to downtown Lee, then though downtown Lenox on Walker Street. It will continue to Pittsfield on Route 7, or South Street, to Park Square.
The motorcade will turn left onto West Street to Taconic High School, then travel back down North Street to turn left and end at Dery Funeral Home on Bradford Street.
The family will have private time at the funeral home, the city said, adding that the route was requested by Galliher’s family.
Only those invited and authorized personnel are allowed to drive in the procession, the city advised.
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