The two soldiers killed in a vehicle accident in Kuwait on March 5 are returning home to the St. Louis area Monday, local news reports said.

The remains of Sgt. Holli Bolinski, 37, and Spc. Jackson Johnson, 20, were returning on separate flights.

The aircraft carrying Bolinski’s remains was to arrive Monday afternoon at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, reported KSDK.com of St. Louis. The wife and mother was from the town of Pinckneyville, Illinois, and mourners and others planned to line Route 127 toward Pinckneyville in honor of her return, the report said, adding that dozens of people were placing flags along the route on Sunday.

The flight carrying Johnson, who was from Hillsboro, Missouri, was to arrive at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, the report said.

Identification "Dog" tags of Spc. Jackson Johnson hang from the fallen soldier battle cross at the memorial service in Mount Vernon, Illinois, March 16. The Battle Cross is a symbolic replacement of a cross, on the battlefield or at the base camp for a soldier who has been killed. Dog tags are sometimes placed on the rifle, and the boots of the dead soldier can be placed next to the rifle. The purpose is to show honor and respect for the dead at the battle site. The practice started during or prior to the American Civil War, as a means of identifying the bodies on the battleground before removal. Today, it is a means of showing respect for the dead among the still living members of the unit. Johnson was killed in a non-combat vehicle crash, March 5, while deployed in Kuwait in support of Operations Inherent Resolve.

The soldiers were assigned to 657th Transportation Company, 419th Transportation Battalion, 103rd Sustainment Command, an Army Reserve unit out of Mount Vernon, Illinois.

The soldiers were deployed to Camp Arifjan.

Sgt. Major Ross Eastman, Religious Affairs Sergeant Major, 1st Theater Sustainment Command, places his command coin on the platform of Sgt. Holli Bolinski's Battle Cross after the memorial ceremony, March 16. Bolinski died, March 5, in a non-combat vehicle crash while deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.

They were traveling in a vehicle when it collided with a civilian commercial truck, according to a release from the 184th Theater Sustainment Command. A preliminary report indicated a civilian water truck hit the vehicle carrying the soldiers, KSDK.com reported.

Bolinski, Johnson and a third soldier were medevaced to U.S. Military Hospital-Kuwait, and the third soldier was medically evacuated from Kuwait.

Bolinksi and Johnson were each posthumously awarded Meritorius Service Medals.

A funeral service was planned Thursday for Bolinski, KFVS12.com reported.

About Kathleen Curthoys

Kathleen Curthoys is editor of Army Times. She has been an editor at Military Times for 20 years, covering issues that affect service members. She previously worked as an editor and staff writer at newspapers in Columbus, Georgia; Huntsville, Alabama; Bloomington, Indiana; Monterey, California and in Germany.

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