Families of Marines lost in Osprey crash express sympathies to soldiers on anniversary of deaths
As they mark the sixth anniversary of the most agonising day of their lives, the families of three US marines killed in Queensland following Exercise Talisman Sabre 2017 have expressed their condolences to the loved ones of four Australians.
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The families of three US marines killed off the coast of Queensland directly after Exercise Talisman Sabre 2017 have expressed their heartfelt condolences to the loved ones of the Australian soldiers lost a week ago in a helicopter crash during the same military exercise.
As efforts to retrieve the bodies of Australian Army aviators Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs from the ocean in the Whitsundays continue, the families of three men killed in an aircraft crash off the coast of Shoalwater Bay six years ago today have expressed heartbreak for their families.
Human remains were found Thursday near wreckage of an MRH-90 Taipan helicopter that crashed near Lindeman Island in the Whitsundays about 10.30pm July 28 during a training mission, part of the 10th iteration of Australia’s largest biennial military training exercise with the US, Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023.
While the search and recovery operation continues in Australia, three bereaved American families are reliving the death and search and recovery of their military sons from the same ocean off the Queensland coast six years ago to the day.
US Marine Corps 1st Lieutenant Benjamin Robert Cross, 26, of Oxford, Maine, Corporal Nathaniel F. Ordway, 21, of Sedgwick, Kansas and Private First Class Ruben P. Velasco, 19, of Los Angeles, California died August 5, 2017 when the MV-22 Osprey tiltroter aircraft they were in crashed about 30km off the coast of the Shoalwater Bay military training area north of Rockhampton in Central Queensland.
Valerie Cross, of Bryant Pond, Maine, told the Courier Mail her heart broke for the families of the missing and presumed dead Australian soldiers, saying the loss of “our precious son Ben” had changed their lives.
“Our hearts break for the four young men and their families from the recent helicopter accident,” she said.
“The bravery and sacrifices that are made every day of the military and their families and friends is beyond measure, powerful and extremely honourable.
“It changes lives forever in an instant.’’
Kathy Ordway, of Wichita, Kansas, said the anniversary of her son Nathaniel’s death was always a particularly difficult time.
“This time of year is extremely emotional,’’ she said.
“I will say how much I feel for the families going through the same hell we went through.
“My heart is broken for them and if I can help them in any way, I’m happy to … I will keep the service persons in my thoughts.”
The marines were among five crew members and 23 passengers aboard the combination helicopter and fixed wing aircraft on that Saturday and were flying from the USS Bonhomme Richard to the USS Green Bay when the Osprey struck trouble while attempting to land.
A video of the crash released in 2022 shows the aircraft hovering as it attempts to land on the USS Green Bay when it instead suddenly smashes into the ship’s deck before sliding into the ocean at 4.07pm.
The other 23 mostly uninjured passengers were rescued, though A 36-year-old aviator was flown to Rockhampton Hospital and transferred to a Brisbane hospital in critical condition.
Captain Cross, who was promoted posthumously, was co-pilot on the Osprey while Cpl Ordway was a crew chief.
They were both with the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265, a US Marine Corps transport squadron comprising MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft and were attached to the Okinawa, Japan-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.
PFC Velasco, who celebrated his birthday in Australia a week before his death, was assigned to Battery G, Battalion Landing Team, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines.
The US military components had stayed in Australia to continue training drills for almost two weeks after TS17 officially ended on July 25 that year.
Mrs Cross said she, her husband Rob and their oldest son, Ryan had their worlds altered forever in an instant, as did the other families.
“This Saturday on the fifth will be six years exactly to the day when the US marines knocked on our door,” she said.
“Our lives and world changed forever that agonising day.”
The proud mum said Capt Cross had trained with the MV-22 Ospreys in North Carolina before being transferred to Okinawa, where he had hoped to have more flying time with the aircraft.
“He had a strong passion for flying since he was very young,” she said.
She said her son was a kind, compassionate, empathetic child and young man, as well as a “scholar and a gentleman for sure with an amazing sense of humour.”
Mrs Cross said she is still crushed by words said at a memorial for the marines in Okinawa after the crash.
“I remember hearing the words ‘Captain Benjamin Cross, you are relieved of your duties’,” she said.
“The grief I felt and still feel when I think of those words still hurts so extremely bad.”
An investigation into the 2017 Osprey crash attributed it to potential downwash and insufficient power. The investigation found there was no pilot error.
The Australian fleet of MRH-90 Taipans have been grounded since the crash halfway through TS23, which officially ended on Friday.
More than 800 personnel are involved in the search for four soldiers who were on board the Taipan when it crashed.
Originally published as Families of Marines lost in Osprey crash express sympathies to soldiers on anniversary of deaths
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