
CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A 34-year-old Marine from Macomb County was one of 31 U.S military personnel killed in the crash of a helicopter during a sandstorm in Iraq, the Pentagon says.
He was identified as Lance Cpl. Allan Klein, 34, of Clinton Township, north of Detroit.
As of Thursday, at least 1,418 members of the U.S. military had died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. Those killed included 40 service members from Michigan or with known Michigan ties.
News of the Klein’s death came Thursday night, hours after family and friends welcomed home members of a Michigan National Guard unit who had been serving in Iraq. The 1440th Engineer Detachment-Firefighters are based at Camp Grayling.
Forty-eight members of the unit were sent to Fort McCoy,...