A female Air Force officer who was one of the first openly gay service members to marry has been identified as one of six US troops killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan.
Facebook postings on Tuesday by friends and family of Air Force Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen mourned her death and sent condolences to her wife Heather and son Jacob, who live near Washington, DC.
"We do find comfort in knowing that Heather and Jacob are no longer in the shadows and will be extended the rights and protections due any American military family as they move through this incredibly difficult period in their lives," the posting from Military Partners and Families Coalition said.
Six American troops, including Vorderbruggen, were killed on Monday when a suicide bomber on a motorbike struck their patrol near Bagram air base in the deadliest attack on US forces this year.
Bagram, north of Kabul, is one of the main bases for the 9800 US troops left in Afghanistan after international troops ended combat operations last year.
The victims also included New York City Detective Joseph Lemm, a 15-year veteran of the NYPD who also volunteered in the US Air National Guard and was on his third deployment to war zones.
"Detective Joseph Lemm epitomised the selflessness we can only strive for: putting his country and city first," New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said in a statement.
Mayor Bill de Blasio sent his condolences to Lemm's wife and two children, saying in a statement they were among so many American families this holiday season "who have an empty chair at the dinner table because one of their loved ones went off to defend our country and never came back".
More than 2300 US troops have died in the Afghan war since the 2001 invasion, but the pace of US deaths has fallen off sharply since the end of formal US combat and a drawdown of American forces.
