Marine who died trying to save crew in fiery Osprey crash to receive service's top noncombat medal
An Arlington, Virginia, family whose son made the ultimate sacrifice for his V-22 Osprey crew will be honored with the Navy and Marine Corps' highest noncombat honors
By TARA COPP
Published - Aug 13, 2024, 12:04 PM ET
Last Updated - Aug 13, 2024, 12:04 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alexia and Bart Collart braced for a hard visit. Marines came to their home in Arlington, Virginia, last week to brief them on what caused the Osprey crash in Australia last year that resulted in the death of their son and two other Marines.
But they weren’t expecting to hear these words: Your son didn’t die in the crash.
Cpl. Spencer R. Collart had safely escaped the aircraft. But the 21-year-old saw that the Osprey's two pilots were unaccounted for. Despite the smoke and flames, he went back in.
Collart “heroically reentered the burning cockpit of the aircraft in an attempt to rescue the trapped pilots,” the official Marine Corps investigation into the crash found. “He perished during this effort.”
