Ross Reynolds laid out his “Future Ambitions” on a high school yearbook page: He wanted “to become a marine officer pilot and have a happy family.”

“That’s what he did,” the principal at Leominster High said Monday, retrieving the page as the Massachusetts school mourned Reynolds’s death after a NATO exercise in Norway. Reynolds – 27 and newly married – graduated nearly a decade ago among hundreds of classmates, but Principal Steven Dubzinski remembers him well.

Reynolds was among four American service members killed in last week’s crash of an MV-22B Osprey, according to the Marine Corps. The others were Capt. Matthew J. Tomkiewicz of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Gunnery Sgt. James W. Speedy of Cambridge, Ohio; and Cpl. Jacob M. Moore of Catlettsburg, Kentucky, authorities said. The four Marines – all based at Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina – were mourned widely this week by loved ones, community members, governors and other leaders in the United States and beyond.

The Norwegian military said the men’s bodies were retrieved Sunday, after a weekend recovery mission complicated by strong winds, heavy rain and a risk of avalanches.

“The pilots and crew were committed to accomplishing their mission and serving a cause greater than themselves,” Maj. Gen. Michael Cederholm said in a letter to Marines and their families. Cederholm, commander of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, added: “We will never allow these Marines’ sacrifice to go unnoticed or unappreciated.”

U.S. and Norwegian authorities are investigating what could have caused the crash.

The four Marines, who ranged in age from 24 to 30, were in Norway for a long-planned exercise aimed at readying Allied forces for cold weather. Called Cold Response 2022, it gathered 30,000 troops from 27 countries for land, sea and air drills in what NATO describes as “extreme and rugged surroundings, from frozen fjords to shivering seas to ice-encrusted mountains.”

On Friday, Tomkiewicz, Reynolds, Speedy and Moore were aboard an Osprey, an aircraft capable of vertical takeoffs and landings that is mostly used to transport troops and equipment for amphibious assaults. The four were taking part in a training flight in Nordland County, in the northern part of the country. They were headed north and due to land just before 6 p.m. in Bodo, just north of the Arctic Circle.

When they did not appear, the Marine Corps reported them missing and Norwegian authorities launched a search-and-rescue mission.

“I feared the worst, but hoped for a long time for better news,” Gen. Eirik Kristoffersen, Norwegian chief of defense, said in a statement.

About three hours into the search, the wreckage of the Osprey was discovered from the air in Beiarn, a municipality south of Bodo. Amid treacherous weather, authorities arrived at the scene overnight and confirmed the deaths of the crew. Poor weather led crews to suspend recovery efforts Saturday; they resumed Sunday.

The Marine Corps, which assisted with the recovery, said the bodies will be transported back to the United States and brought to family members in the coming days.

The Washington Post was unable to reach some relatives Monday and did not immediately hear back from others.

Tomkiewicz, a 27-year-old Osprey pilot, joined the Marine Corps in 2015. His decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. He and his wife, Lauren, shared a dog named Kevin Bacon, according to Fort Wayne’s Journal-Gazette.

A 2016 graduate of Purdue Polytechnic Institute, he was bursting with personality, always ready with a witty comment or joke, WANE-TV reported.

Reynolds was the other Osprey pilot. He joined the Marines in 2017 and was recognized with decorations including the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and certificates and letters of appreciation.

Dubzinski, who was Reynolds’s guidance counselor, remembers him as driven and quietly confident. He participated in wrestling and robotics. “You knew he was going to be successful right from the minute that you met him,” Dubzinski said.

He got married this year, not long before going to Europe, the principal said.

Teachers who knew Reynolds are “crushed,” the principal said. The high school held a moment of silence Monday morning, and staffers with military service lowered a flag to half-staff.

Reynolds’s family members said they were shocked and devastated, adding that he his wife, Lana, “had so many plans. So much ahead of them.”

“We will miss his smile, his hugs, his laughter,” the Reynoldses said in a statement to the station. “We will miss his energy and goodness. Ross was so caring, compassionate and committed, not only to his country, but also to being the best son, brother, husband, son-in-law, nephew, cousin, uncle, brother-in-law, friend and Marine that he could be.”

Speedy, 30, served as an administrative assistant and joined the Marines in 2009. He received accolades including the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with two gold stars, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and the Marine Corps Drill Instructor Ribbon, along with certificates and letters of appreciation.

His wife, Chyanne, posted a picture of the two on Facebook early Monday, Stars and Stripes noted. In the caption, she wrote, “I love you so much.” The two have a daughter.

Moore, 24, was an Osprey crew chief who joined the Marines in 2018 and had been recognized with the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Cold Response 2022 was to carry on this week. Cederholm said the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing would “honor them by taking to the skies again with their memory in our hearts, with nerves of steel, and ready to answer our great Nation’s call.”