Maine Marine among crash casualties
Recovery operation could take months
A Maine man was one of three Marines who died Saturday when an Osprey aircraft crashed in the Australian sea while trying to land, a family member who called the serviceman a hero told the Herald.
“The world needs to know that we still have heroes,” said a relative of 1st Lt. Benjamin Robert Cross, 26. The relative, who wept during a phone interview yesterday, asked not to be named out of respect for the family’s wishes.
“We’re all just devastated,” she said. “He’s too young and it hurts too much.”
Cross’ family is from Bethel, Maine, and he attended the Virginia Military Institute on full scholarship, according to the Portland Press Herald, which said Cross was a Marine aviator who loved to fly.
Cross graduated in 2009 from Telstar Regional High School in Bethel, a small town in Western Oxford County, according to the Press Herald. He played basketball and soccer in high school, the newspaper reported.
Yesterday, U.S. military officials ended the searchand-rescue operation for Cross and two other Marines who were missing after their Osprey crashed into the sea off the east coast of Australia.
The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps launched a recovery effort, the Marine base Camp Butler in Japan said in a statement.
The Marines’ next of kin have been notified, and Australia’s defense force is assisting with the recovery effort, the statement said.
The MV-22 Osprey had launched from the USS Bonhomme Richard and was conducting regularly scheduled operations Saturday when it crashed, Camp Butler said. The ship’s small boats and aircraft immediately responded in the search-and-rescue efforts, and 23 of 26 personnel aboard the aircraft were rescued.
“Recovery and salvage operations can take several months to complete, but can be extended based on several environmental factors,” according to Camp Butler’s statement. “The circumstances of the mishap are currently under investigation, and there is no additional information available at this time.”
The Osprey is an aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter, but flies like an airplane. They have been involved in a series of high-profile crashes in recent years.
The aircraft was in Australia for a joint military
‘The world needs to know that we still have heroes.’ — Relative of 1st Lt. Benjamin Robert Cross
training exercise held by the U.S. and Australia last month.
Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne said she had spoken with U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis “to offer Australia’s support in any way that can be of assistance.”
A White House official said President Trump had been briefed.