WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 The Marine Corps in a ceremony at the commandant鈥檚 headquarters on Monday presented their highest noncombat medal to the parents of Cpl. Spencer Collart, who died last year after his V-22 Osprey crashed in Australia.
Collart, 21, survived the crash but to try to save the pilots, who were trapped.
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith spoke with emotion in addressing the fallen Marine's parents, Bart and Alexia Collart, who are from Arlington, Virginia. "You raised a Marine who in the final moments of his life thought not of himself but of this fellow Marines,鈥 Smith said. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 stop to think of the fire or the danger.鈥
During the ceremony, Smith, who is the Marine Corps' top military officer, cried twice.
The crash in August 2023 was one of four fatal accidents since 2022 that have drawn increased scrutiny of the Osprey, which flies both like a helicopter and an airplane. The Associated Press has reported on the and the program has faced, and there are multiple reviews underway to see if the complex aircraft has the resources needed to improve its reliability.
Bart Collart called his son 鈥渙ne of the best knuckleheads you ever wanted to hang out with.鈥 He said the pilots and Spencer 鈥渓ost their lives while managing to save the lives of every Marine they were transporting,鈥 and he credited the pilots with leveling out the Osprey before it hit the ground, to give the troops they were transporting a better chance of surviving.
Collart鈥檚 Osprey was participating in an Australian military exercise when it ended up following too closely behind the lead aircraft and maneuvered to avoid it, ultimately putting it in an unrecoverable fall.
Seconds after the Osprey hit the ground, the aircraft filled with smoke and flames. According to witness reports in the crash investigation. Collart, the crew chief, had been standing in the tunnel even as the aircraft was going down. Most of the 23 troops on board escaped out the back, including a commander who told investigators he saw Collart escape out a side door.
A site team later found Collart鈥檚 tether 鈥 what he鈥檇 use to latch onto the Osprey to move around during flight 鈥 undamaged outside the aircraft.
Collart escaped the burning aircraft 鈥渁nd immediately began ensuring the safety of the Marines around him,鈥 Smith said. But Capt. Eleanor LeBeau and aircraft commander Maj. Tobin Lewis were still trapped inside, and Collart went back in to try to save them.
Investigators believe he may have unbuckled Lewis from his restraints before he succumbed to the smoke and flames.
One of the Marines who was riding in the back and survived is the son of Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Ben Watson, who most recently served as the commanding general of the First Marine Division. Watson attended the ceremony to honor Collart鈥檚 service.
