‘Brought out the best’: Mass. airman killed in Osprey crash was ‘a quiet leader’

The Massachusetts airman killed when his aircraft went down off the coast of Japan on Wednesday was “a quiet leader” known for hard work and bringing out the best in those around him, his former football coach and others who knew him said Friday.

The military on Thursday informed the family of Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher, a native of Pittsfield, that rescue crews had recovered his body from the ocean, a family member said. Another seven airmen also on board the lost aircraft were still missing Friday, according to the Air Force.

Galliher joined the Air Force after graduating in 2017 from Taconic High School in Pittsfield, where he played football.

Former Pittsfield Public Schools Athletic Director Jim Abel said Galliher was “an approachable, popular, fun-loving student at Taconic” who “embodied the characteristics you’d like to see demonstrated by your son, your student, or your teammate.”

Pittsfield Fire Department Capt. Jim Ziter, who coached Taconic football until 2020, said Galliher was “one of the hardest workers” on the team, possessed “a great sense of humor” and “brought out the best in all his teammates.”

Galliher joined the football team as a freshman and was a talented running back and defensive back — “but more importantly, a great kid,” Ziter said in a phone call with MassLive on Friday.

“He never had a bad thing to say about anything,” Ziter said. “He was a quiet leader, but he didn’t have to be vocal. He led by example.”

Abel said Galliher was part of a group of “committed, gritty, selfless athletes” whose hard work built the football team from a period of lopsided losses to its first Western Massachusetts Championship in Galliher’s senior season.

“Jake Galliher was one of those student-athletes that helped set the tone and culture of the school – on the playing fields, and more importantly, in the classrooms and school hallways,” Abel said by email Friday.

A flag outside Taconic High School hung at half-staff Friday as news spread of Galliher’s death. In a statement, school Principal Dr. Matthew Bishop said Galliher “embodied the values that we hope to instill in all of our students.”

Galliher left behind his wife, Ivy, 2-year-old and 7-week-old sons, “a loving family and countless friends, all of whom are grappling with this profound loss,” a statement from Galliher’s family on Friday said. The family lives on a military base in Japan.

“Jake was an amazing father, son and brother dedicated to his family and friends and we look forward to telling his story when the time is right,” the statement. For now, the family asked for privacy as they processed an “unimaginable loss.”

They extended their thoughts and support to the families of the seven other crew members missing after the aircraft crash on Wednesday.

The Air Force Special Operations Command said a CV-22B Osprey, a plane-helicopter hybrid, “was involved in an aircraft mishap while performing a routine training mission off the shore of Yakushima Island, Japan,” on Wednesday. At a press briefing Thursday, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said the cause of the crash remained under investigation.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-1st District, who represents Pittsfield, said in a statement that Galliher “represented our nation’s best.”

“As a father, my heart goes out to Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher’s mother and father during this difficult time,” Neal said Friday. “Any parent will tell you there is no greater pain than the pain of losing a child, and Jacob Galliher was beloved by all.”

Galliher was a military linguist stationed in Japan, a role for which he trained two years. He was fluent in Mandarin Chinese, his family told the Berkshire Eagle.

“The Galliher family is enduring every service family’s nightmare, and we hold them in our hearts and prayers as they grieve,” Massachusetts Veterans Services Secretary Jon Santiago said in a statement Friday. “May his memory serve as a source of solace and strength to his family, friends, and fellow servicemembers. Our Massachusetts military community extends our deepest condolences to his family and will honor his legacy.”

Gov. Maura Healey mourned Galliher’s loss in a statement Friday and said her thoughts were with “his family, especially his two young sons, and the Berkshire County community as they mourn the loss of one of their best and brightest.”

Yakushima Island, near where the Osprey crashed, is about 40 miles southwest of the Japanese mainland.

The Osprey aircraft takes off and lands like a helicopter, but during flight can rotate its propellers forward and cruise much faster, like an airplane.

Ospreys have had a number of accidents in the past, including in Japan, where they are deployed at U.S. and Japanese military bases.

In Okinawa, where about half of the 50,000 American troops are based, Gov. Denny Tamaki told reporters Wednesday that he would ask the U.S. military to suspend all Osprey flights in Japan, the Associated Press reported.

The Republican’s Jim Kinney contributed reporting. Material from the Associated Press was used in this story.

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