U.S. Marines, families of the fallen and Australian troops participate in a Pukumani ceremony on Melville Island, Australia, Sept. 27, 2024. (Kassie McDole/U.S. Marine Corps)
Family members of three Marines who died in an MV-22B Osprey crash last year attended a spiritual walk and ceremonies in Australia’s Northern Territory last week.
Cpl. Spencer Collart, 21, of Arlington, Va.; Capt. Eleanor LeBeau, 29, of Belleville, Ill.; and Maj. Tobin Lewis, 37, of Jefferson, Colo., died Aug. 4, 2023, when their tiltrotor went down on Melville Island off Australian’s northern coast.
Their families, along with Marines and Australian troops, joined indigenous people for the walk and ceremonies Sept. 24, 26 and Friday at and near the crash site, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin said in a news release Tuesday.
The Osprey was assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363 at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
A Marine Corps accident report released Aug. 9 identified “pilot error and complacency” as the crash’s primary cause.
The Osprey went down after a close call with another aircraft during their approach to a landing zone, according to the report. It also found that squadron leadership had permitted “a culture that disregarded safety of flight.”
The U.S. military grounded its fleet of about 400 Ospreys between Dec. 6 and March 8 as it investigated a Nov. 29 crash of an Air Force CV-22 Osprey that killed eight airmen off Japan’s southern coast.
However, 10 Ospreys assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 268 (Reinforced), based at Kaneohe Bay, have been in Darwin as part of this year’s annual six-month training rotation of about 2,000 Marines.
The rotational force, set to wrap up this year’s mission soon, did not respond Wednesday to emailed requests for interviews and more information about the memorial ceremonies.
The spiritual walk took place Sept. 24 at locations including Robertson Barracks and Larrakeyah Defense Precinct, where rotational force Marines live and work near Darwin, and Royal Australian Air Force Base Darwin, according to the release.
“These ceremonies prepared the way for the final Pukumani ceremony,” the release said, referring to an indigenous event designed to guide the spirits of the fallen Marines.
On Sept. 26, Marines, families of the fallen and Australian troops watched Tiwi Islanders, supported by Larrakia people, perform a healing ritual marking the end of a one-year-and-one-month mourning period, according to the release.
During the event, the Tiwi Islanders formally adopted the U.S. Marine Corps, the three fallen Marines and their families into the community, the release said.
“The Tiwi people have a long-standing connection with both the Australian and U.S. militaries,” Tiwi Land Council chairwoman Leslie Tungatalum said in the release. “This adoption shows our deep respect for the Marines and their families and strengthens the ties between us.”
Marines, family members of the deceased and Australian troops traveled Friday to the crash site at Pickertaramoor, Melville Island, for the Pukumani ceremony, according to the release.
There, locals erected Pukumani poles, representing the eight Tiwi clans, alongside three additional poles for the fallen Marines, according to the release.
“We’re a very close-knit family, and clearly, the Tiwi people are about family too, so that’s what really draws us to them, and we feel one with them,” Spencer Collart’s father, Bart Collart, said in the release. “Our Marine Corps family has been wonderful as well, and it’s just an honor to be here.”
