Funeral arrangements released for Bardstown airmen killed in KC-135 crash in Iraq

(ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – Technical Sergeant Ashley Brooke Pruitt, 34, died while serving during Operation Epic Fury. She was one of six service members who perished aboard a KC-135 air tanker that went down during the operation in Iraq.

Born and raised in Bardstown, Kentucky, Pruitt was an active member of the Nelson County High School JROTC program. She continued in the ROTC program at the University of Louisville before enlisting in the United States Air Force in 2017, according to her obituary by Houghlin Funeral Homes.

Pruitt served as a boom operator and instructor, with assignments at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma, and Sumpter Smith Air National Guard Base in Alabama. She was widely regarded as fierce, a true force of nature, and radiant, her obituary read.

“She was the best of us,” a Chief Master Sergeant said.

Pruitt is survived by her husband, Greg Pruitt; her daughter, Emilia; her stepson, Ollie; her parents, Patrick and Grace Young; her brother, Technical Sergeant Blake Young; and her paternal grandmother, JoAnn Myers.

A dignified transfer and escort will take place at 11 a.m. on Thursday, April 9, at Samuels Field Airport in Bardstown. Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, April 10, at Houghlin-Greenwell Funeral Home. Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, April 11, at New Salem Baptist Church Cemetery. Cremation will follow the services.