Marine who died trying to reach trapped Osprey pilots honored for final bravery

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When Marine Cpl. Spencer Collart’s MV-22 Osprey crashed in August 2023, he made it out alive — but went back into the burning plane when he realized the pilots were trapped inside.

The act of heroism cost Collart his life.

The Osprey crew chief was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal posthumously for trying to save fellow marines in a 2023 Osprey crash in Australia. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric M. Smith, presented the posthumous award to Collart’s family on Monday. The crash killed Collart and the two pilots he tried to save, Maj. Tobin Lewis and Capt. Eleanor LeBeau. Crash investigators found that Collart reached the cockpit but died in his attempts to extract them from the aircraft.

Alexia Collart, Cpl. Collart’s mother, said she was sure her son had acted without thinking to save his fellow crew members.

“As a mom, I think about if he didn’t go back in there, but of course it was Spencer, he had to go back in there,” she said. “It was a reflex. He had seconds to think, and he thought, and he acted. There was no question.”

“This kind of selflessness is rare, but it’s the kind of bravery that defines Marines across generations,” Smith said in a news release. “In those critical moments, Cpl. Collart put his life on the line for his brothers and sisters, knowing full well the risks. He demonstrates what it means to live by our values of honor, courage, and commitment.”

osprey crash Navy and Marine Corps Medal
The family of Cpl. Spencer Collart during an award presentation posthumously honoring his heroic actions, Sept. 16, 2024, at Marine Barracks Washington. Gen. Eric M. Smith, 39th Commandant of the Marine Corps, posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal to Cpl. Collart’s family in recognition of the heroic actions Collart made while attempting to save the lives of his fellow Marines following a crash of their MV-22 Osprey on Aug. 27, 2023. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Tawanya Norwood.

Collart was an MV-22 crew chief with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363.  The Osprey was carrying 20 Marines on the aircraft, all of whom survived the crash, investigators determined, at least partially due to the final efforts of the pilots to land the plane. 

The Marine Corps investigation found that the crash was the result of several errors by the pilots during a near mid-air collision. The official inquiry pointed to the squadron’s lack of oversight from the commander to maintenance crews which should’ve led to the aircraft being deemed unsafe to fly in a training exercise. 

In December 2023, the military announced it was standing down its entire fleet of Ospreys following a Japan crash that killed eight crew members.

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The award ceremony was held at the Home of the Commandants in Washington D.C. Smith used his speech to express his gratitude to the Collarts for their son’s bravery. 

“You raised a Marine who, in his final moments, thought not of himself, but of his fellow Marines. And we honor you for that,” Smith said. “Spencer’s legacy is one of selfless devotion to duty, and we’re forever in his debt.”

During the ceremony, Collart’s father, Bartley Collart said his son looked up to the two pilots he tried to save and even submitted pilot paperwork to one day follow in their footsteps.

“You kind of had to earn his respect and once you found it, you got it. And that’s why we just know that he thought so much of Maj. Lewis and Capt. LeBeau,” said Bartley Collart said. “He told us. He really thought highly of them as people, and also as pilots. A lot of people said they were like the ‘A Team’ when they were flying together. We just know that he was flying with the best.”

Collart was laid to rest on Sept. 25, 2023, at Arlington National Cemetery. His gravestone will be updated with his posthumous award.

At the ceremony, his mother shared a section of Collart’s final letter home, according to a Marine Corps release.

“Sometimes life throws us a little bit of happiness. While you have it, enjoy it, make it last, but realize eventually it’s going to go away,” Collart wrote in his letter. “When it does, look for the lessons in its passing. No matter how much it hurts, no matter how much you wish it didn’t, no matter how much you want it to stay. It is only then that we can grow.”

The Navy and Marine Corps Medal was established in 1942 and is awarded to service members who “distinguish themselves by heroism” outside of enemy combat. A significant portion of the recipients were awarded for heroic actions during World War II. The most famous recipient, President John F. Kennedy received the medal for serving as commanding officer of a World War II Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109.

Other recipients have earned the medal for similar acts of bravery. Barbara O. Barnwell was the first woman marine to be awarded the medal in 1953 for saving a fellow Marine from drowning. In 2013, Cpl. Randy D. Mann was awarded the medal risking his life when he saved two marines from drowning during a training event. 

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Patty Nieberg

Sr. Staff Writer

Patty is a senior staff writer for Task & Purpose. She has reported on the military for five years, embedding with the National Guard during Hurricane Florence and covering legal proceedings for a former al Qaeda commander at Guantanamo Bay.