Columbus resident’s foundation shines light on late husband’s service, love of flying

U.S. Marine Capt. John Sax was 8 years old when he fell in love with flying while growing up in California during the 1990s.

A family friend invited him as a child to ride a Yak-52 monoplane. Since that day, John surrounded himself with all things aviation, going to the Reno Air Races, aviation museums and airplane simulator buildings whenever he could.

“He lived and breathed flying and aviation,” Columbus resident Amber Sax, John’s widow, told the Ledger-Enquirer. “Flying was his first love. His passion for it was contagious. Anyone that talked to John knew this is what called to his heart.”

John completed a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical science from the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University campus in Prescott, Arizona, in 2013. After earning his commercial pilot certificates and multi-engine and instrument ratings, John worked as a certified flight instructor and became a U.S. Marine Corps officer in 2016. In 2020, he achieved the “Wings of Gold,” the Navy’s prestigious aviator badge signifying advanced flight training.

“He was really living his dream life by being able to fly military aircraft,” Amber said. “He flew every training aircraft the Navy had to offer.”

While stationed at Camp Pendleton in California, Capt. Sax and four other Marines, Capt. Nicholas Losapio, Cpl. Nathan Carlson, Cpl. Seth Rasmuson and Lance Cpl. Evan Strickland, died June 8, 2022, when their MV-22B Osprey aircraft suffered a “catastrophic and unanticipated mechanical failure” during a training operation, according to the Marine Corps.

Amber started the Capt Sax Foundation after John’s death to honor his legacy and continue sharing his story.

“It gives a place for grief to go,” she said, “because grief is love without a place to put it.”

Amber, an analytics and strategy leader for Navy Federal Credit Union, serves as executive director of the foundation. Since its founding in 2023, the organization has awarded $81,000 in aviation scholarships to 68 recipients across the country to reduce financial barriers for aspiring aviators.

When someone transitions out of military service, Amber said, they may not have enough hours to work as a commercial pilot. Training and flight hours can cost thousands of dollars, and the GI Bill might not cover the cost of all required certifications.

The foundation also provides scholarships to people pursuing aeronautical engineering or aviation maintenance programs.

“That comes from the mentality of knowing that it takes all of these people to get people off the ground and flying,” Amber said. “John was a big believer in giving recognition back to everybody that it required to get him up in the air.”

Amber said John understood the challenges of financing an aviation education himself. John used family support, scholarships, grants, student loans and work as an Embry-Riddle student employee to become a pilot.

One scholarship recipient, Caleb P., wrote in a testimony on the foundation’s website that the “generosity and investment will allow me to achieve my goals without hardship to my parents. ... This is really an answered prayer.”

In another testimony on the website, recipient Jennie M., wrote, “Receiving this scholarship in honor of Capt John J. Sax, USMC to help cover the expenses of courses as I pursue my Master’s in Flight Test Engineering field will have such a lifelong and tremendous impact on me personally and professionally.”

As a certified flight instructor, John mentored some of the next generation who dreamed of flying.

“He had a servant’s heart,” Amber said. “He had a gift for making other people believe in themselves and feel inspired and get through whatever their setbacks and challenges were.”

Their youngest daughter was born three months after John’s death. Amber said her goal is to continue the foundation as long as she can so their two daughters can grow up seeing the impact their father’s life continues to have on others.

Some scholarship recipients send the foundation videos expressing their gratitude. Amber said she shows these videos to her eldest daughter.

“It’s really great for her to get to see her daddy’s love for flying in these recipients’ stories and the way that they talk about flying,” she said.

Originally from northern California, Amber moved to Columbus in May. She hopes the foundation’s work teaches people about the impact John had as a Marine, husband and father.

“John was a light, and he made the world a better place by existing within it,” she said. “The foundation continues shining that light.”

To donate to the Capt Sax Foundation, visit captsaxfoundation.org/donate. For more information, email info@captsaxfoundation.org.