Marine gets highest noncombat award for acts in fatal Osprey crash

The air crew told their Marines that the Osprey was going down.

Capt. Joshua Watson, nearly two dozen other Marines and a sailor braced for impact.

Watson shoved his radio operator into the brace position before protecting himself. Everything not strapped down became a projectile, he would later note in his report on the incident, shared on “The Connecting File,” a Substack.

Then, the aircraft crashed. Fuel leaked out of its frame, which ignited and spread fire all around.

Watson served as the ground force commander for the 38-Marine element that was inserting into Pickertaramoor Airfield on Melville Island, about 45 miles north of Darwin, Australia, during an exercise Aug. 23, 2023.

After the crash that day, Watson unstrapped and shook the unconscious radio operator awake.

“I could not see the Marine seated five feet across from me, nor could I see out of the rear ramp of the aircraft,” Watson wrote. “Heavy flames, thick smoke, spraying fluid, dirt, dust, gear, and aircraft wreckage made visibility extremely poor.”

Amid the wreckage, the captain freed the fellow Marine from his restraints and got him out of the aircraft.

“The heat from the fire was overwhelming,” Watson wrote. “The only light piercing through the smoke came from the rear of the aircraft and this soon became the primary exit.”

What he did next resulted in Watson receiving the Navy and Marine Corps Medal — the highest noncombat naval service award — in a ceremony at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida last month.

“After noticing that nobody was really moving, I directed the Marines to, ‘Leave everything and get out the back of the aircraft,’” Watson in a Marine release. “As I unstrapped and untangled myself, I handed off my radio operator to another Marine towards the rear exit, checking under seats as I went to ensure no one remained trapped.”

Once outside the aircraft, Watson did a head count, checking for all the individuals aboard.

He had one urgent casualty and several priority casualties. Three people were missing — two pilots and the crew chief.

“Once I realized we hadn’t gotten accountability of those three Marines, my first thought was to attempt to locate them,” said Watson. “Still standing at the rear of the aircraft from which the fire was rapidly spreading, I witnessed the rear member of the aircrew who was pinned underneath the fuselage of the plane and severely injured, being cut free and buddy-dragged to safety by my Marines who had come back to his rescue.”

A subsequent investigation stated that Cpl. Spencer Collart, one of the missing, survived the impact. However, Collart died while trying to reach the Osprey’s pilots who were trapped in the cockpit.

Investigators reported that the two pilots, Maj. Tobin J. Lewis, 37, and Capt. Eleanor V. LeBeau, 29, were likely already dead. Collart was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal posthumously.

Minutes after the crash, Watson radioed a section of AH-1Z Viper and UH-Y1 Venom helicopters overhead. The captain provided triage assessments, accountability and a casualty brief.

“Fortunately, we had those Marine helicopters above, because we wouldn’t have been able to start getting casualty resources to our position if that wasn’t the case,” Watson said. “They were our lifeline.”

Fighting through the pain of a broken ankle, Watson led his Marines through two kilometers of wooded terrain to the airfield. The captain continued directing the Marines in his command, providing real-time updates until they reached a point to hand off the casualties, which included one urgent surgical and four priority casualties, according to the release.

“Almost everyone was injured in the crash, but we didn’t realize the severity due to the shock, we kept checking on each other because we didn’t know the true conditions of everyone,” Watson said. “Self-aid was critical, my Marines being solid in Tactical Combat Casualty Care was essential to minimize the loss of life.”