India, Sept. 7 -- A United States airman killed in a combat mission in West Asia was initially denied combat-related pay and benefits after his death, his widow said in a social media post which went viral on Instagram

According to Libby Klinner, she said she was told by the American Air Force that the US was "not at war" when her husband died, thus not qualifying for combat pay. Her husband, 33-year-old Alex Klinner, was part of the six-member crew refueling the KC-135 which crashed in western Iraq in March, while supporting American operations in Iran.

However, following her post, the Pentagon reached out to Libby to clarify that her husband Alex's final paycheck would include hazard pay and combat-related tax breaks, the Associated P...