@dailymailpolitics: The widow of a US soldier killed in the Iran war says she was told her family would miss out on combat benefits because the Pentagon, under Pete Hegseth’s leadership, does not officially classify the conflict as a war. Libby Klinner said that when she questioned her husband's final paycheck, the officer assigned to support her after his death told her the family would not receive hazard pay or combat-related tax breaks because 'we were not at war.' Her husband, Major Alex Klinner, 33, died on March 12 when a KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq while supporting US operations against Iran. The Alabama-based airman served with the 99th Air Refueling Squadron and was among six crew members killed in the crash. He left behind three young children; a two-year-old son and twins who were seven months old when he died. The couple married in 2019, with Libby moving to the Pacific Northwest for his job before they relocated to Birmingham, Alabama, in 2022. ‘My husband lost his life because we’re in a war,’ she told the Associated Press. ‘It all comes down to principle.’ After her statement circulated online, the Air Force contacted her again and said it had itemized her husband's benefits incorrectly, and that combat pay and tax exclusions were in fact included. 📷 Getty Images / GofundMe #war #iran #trump #petehegseth #news

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Monday 07 September 2026 20:35:56 GMT