BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — Four F-35 Lightning II fighter jets piloted by Auburn University graduates flew over Jordan-Hare Stadium on Oct. 24 in tribute to U.S. Air Force Maj. John “Alex” Klinner, a 2016 Auburn graduate who passed away in March when his KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq.
The flyover, performed by jets from the Alabama Air National Guard’s 187th Fighter Wing, followed the national anthem before the Tigers faced LSU.
Klinner, 33, was one of six airmen who died when the plane went down March 12 during a combat mission tied to Operation Epic Fury, according to U.S. Central Command.
Klinner grew up in Auburn and graduated from Auburn High School in 2011. There, he was a member of the National Honor Society, Key Club and Honors Band. He was also a leader on the varsity soccer team that won the school’s first boys’ soccer state title the year after he graduated.
A third-generation Auburn University alumnus, he joined Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) fraternity and earned his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering in 2016. He was then commissioned into the Air Force the following year through Auburn’s Reserve Officer Training Corps and completed pilot training in November 2018.
Klinner deployed in 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2026 in support of Operations Inherent Resolve, Atlas Guardian, Southern Spear and Epic Fury, flying 543 combat and combat-support hours according to MacDill Air Force Base.
Most recently, he served as an evaluator pilot and led the 99th Air Refueling Squadron’s standardization and evaluation program, which keeps 34 aircrew members in compliance with Air Force directives.
He is survived by his wife, Libby; their three young children, a son and twins; and his parents, Johnny and Mary Ellen Klinner, who live in the Auburn area. In a statement after his death, Klinner’s family remembered him as “a devoted husband, a loving father” and a servant leader who quietly helped anyone in need.
Members of the Klinner family also joined Auburn Athletics and the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering on Saturday for a special presentation marking a new scholarship in his name.
Established by the college’s Mechanical Engineering Advisory Board, the scholarship will support future Auburn mechanical engineering students in Air Force ROTC who embody the excellence, leadership and commitment to service that defined Klinner.
“He worked hard to become an Auburn mechanical engineer, followed his dreams of being a U.S. Air Force pilot and was a third-generation Auburn graduate we can all be proud of and should never forget,” said John Prunkl, a 1990 mechanical engineering graduate and MEAB member, in a statement released by the university.
Those interested in honoring Klinner’s sacrifice and legacy may contribute to the Major Alex Klinner Memorial Endowed Scholarship. More information about the scholarship is available at aub.ie/A8WDVy.
