(Tribune News Service) — U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., has asked the U.S. Air Force to award a posthumous promotion to a New Hampshire airman who died from a rare form of cancer in 2012.

Lt. Col. Sean Michael Judge had been considered for promotion before passing away after serving nearly 20 years in the Air Force, Hassan said.

His mother, Mary Conant, first wrote to Hassan about this request to honor her son, who grew up in Lawrence, Mass., and lived in Kingston, N.H.

He left behind his wife, Carmen, and their three children, Ryan, Seth and Amelia,

“Sean had an exemplary career as an airman and a scholar,” Hassan wrote in her letter to the Air Force.

“Recognizing his service and commitment to the Air Force by posthumously awarding him an honorary promotion to colonel would be in keeping with the traditions of the Air Force and the intent of the law.”

Conant said her son’s superiors assigned him to attend the U.S. Air Force War College to obtain two master’s degrees and a doctorate.

“His next assignment would have been to Germany as a military advisor to a four-star general. He was very much looking forward to this assignment when he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer,” Conant said.

Judge earned his pilot wings in 1994 and flew C-130s, a military transport aircraft, and he became a command pilot after accumulating more than 3,000 flight hours.

He served in the Bosnian conflict as well as Operation Enduring Freedom and multiple international and domestic deployments.

He was also an instructor pilot in a joint venture with the U.S. Navy.

During his military career, Judge received numerous awards, including the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Medal, the Aerial Achievement Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with valor and two oak leaf clusters.

Hassan’s request comes under a federal law that permits a member of Congress to seek an honorary or posthumous promotion of a retired veteran or one who has passed away.

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