Fallen U.S. Air Force Airman Honored at Inglewood Park Cemetery

INGLEWOOD, Calif., July 21 (KNN) — A Celebration of Life with military honors was held for fallen U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Jorge Arturo Delgado at the Inglewood Park Cemetery in the city of Inglewood.

The early morning Saturday service included family members as well as close friends. Delgado’s devastated teen son was among the mourners grappling with the shock of their loss.

The family received sudden, tragic news at the end of June when they were informed by U.S. Air Force airmen in person, that Delgado had been killed in an accident on base.

Delgado was stationed at the Malmstrom Air Force Base located in Montana where the incident occurred. He was assigned to the 341st Security Forces Squadron.

According to a July 1 news release from the Malmstrom AFB, Staff Sergeant Delgado was killed and three other airmen were injured in a vehicle accident on the base on June 29, 2024.

“The four airmen were traveling on base to their duty location in an up-armored HMMWV at the time of the incident,” stated the release. “Two additional first responder airmen were injured while responding to the incident.”

Malmstrom AFB has not released any further details regarding the fatal incident.

Air Force officers conducted their military honors ceremony at the cemetery and bestowed three separate American flags – all folded into the tri-cornered shape – upon the hands of Delgado’s mother, father and his 14-year-old son.

According to a family member, Delgado would have celebrated his 38th birthday on August 25, 2024.

Family members spoke of Delgado with love and admiration of a man who was committed to his family and his career with the U.S. Air Force. His son Aydan, was his pride and joy. The deep bond between the two were evident in a few family photos shared with KNN.

Aydan’s maternal grandmother told KNN that Jorge was proud to be an American and that his dream came through when he became an airman in San Antonio, Texas, about 10 years ago. The day the family received the news [of the fatal accident] was the day that Aydan’s life and everyone else that cared and loved Jorge stopped. Only grief remains.

“To those who love George (Jorge), life will never get better, you just learn to hide the sorrow and pain until the end of our days. May God and the military protect our soldiers as the soldiers protect our country,” she said.

The link to the GoFundMe page can be found here .

Video and photo used with permission from the Delgado family .

Laura Jean, Chief Editor / KNN

Copyright © 2024 Key News Network, LLC. All rights reserved.