Major Sterling Norton of Arcadia, died after his F/A-18c jet crashed during a training mission in the Twentynine Palms desert area.
Norton was assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in the San Diego area.
The Marines said Saturday that Norton’s twin-engine Hornet crashed during a close air support mission. It was part of a pre-deployment training exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms east of Los Angeles.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Norton joined the Marines in 2005 and served in Afghanistan four years ago. He also had several deployments to Japan.
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