Robert David Crockett

An icon in Army Aviation and well known and respected throughout the Army Aviation enterprise, Davy Crockett closed out his final celestial flight plan and passed away peacefully on April 5th, 2021. He was proceeded in death by his lovely wife, Susan Coates Crockett, his brother, Ronald Crockett and his parents, Helen and Robert Crockett. Davy was born on December 5th, 1947 and raised in a town called “Davy”, nestled deep in the mountains of West Virginia. After graduating from Welch High School in 1965, Davy made his living by working the coal mines. After a few years, Davy made the decision to serve his Country and joined the U.S. Army Reserve. After basic combat training he became a supply clerk and opted to apply for and serve on Active Duty. Davy had his aspirations focused on flying so in 1970 he applied for flight school and after a rigorous application process he was accepted into the Initial Entry Rotory Wing Course at Fort Rucker, Alabama. After his training, Davy served in Vietnam assigned to Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 17th CAV, 101st Airborne Division. After completing his tour in Vietnam, Davy returned to the United States and ventured into the private corporate aviation world, flying Bell helicopters out of Baltimore, Maryland. His passion for flying increased as well as his zeal to remain in the military so he joined the West Virginia Army National Guard Aviation program and served out of Parkersburg, WV until 1981 where he realized his final, true calling into his new aviation home and family; the Army Aviation Support Facility (AASF), Virginia Army National Guard in Sandston, Virginia. As a young Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2) Davy volunteered for every duty or mission that the AASF could throw at him, learning every aspect of his new aviation landscape while amassing flight time and experience in both the UH-1H and OH-58A helicopters, most notably flying Law Enforcement Officers throughout Virginia in support of the State’s Drug Eradication program. While being promoted to Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CW3), Davy was tasked to transition and master the new, Army Assault helicopter, the UH-60A Blackhawk. In 1986, after his transition into the Blackhawk, he immediately attended and passed the UH-60 Instructor Pilot’s course and brought back his skills to the AASF, instructing, and evaluating all assigned pilots in the AASF program. In time Davy was awarded the title as Standardization Instructor Pilot (SIP) and served the AASF as an Instrument Flight Evaluator (IFE), Night Vision Goggle (NVG) Instructor Pilot as well as instructor in tactical flight. Davy continued to answer the call to duty and was deployed for a year to Fort Rucker, Alabama in support of Desert Storm whereby he trained students to become aviators to continue into the war fight. After promotion to Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CW4), Davy continued his military studies and accepted subsequent calls to duty. This time supporting a mission in Bolivia serving as full-time cadre and aviation subject matter expert. Davy’s pinnacle deployment was in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) from 2005-2007, serving as the Assault Battalion’s Standardization Instructor Pilot (SIP) for the 2nd Battalion 224th Aviation Regiment. After his return from OIF, he attended and graduated from the Warrant Officer Senior Staff Course which qualified him for the highest rank in the Warrant Officer Corp. He was subsequently promoted to Chief Warrant Officer 5. In 2009, Davy retired from the military with 35 years and 10 months of service and at the same time, retired from the Civilian Technician Program as a GS-13 with over 27 years of service. A Master Army Aviator, his awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, The Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. Davy worked hard and he equally loved to play hard. There was never a dull moment with Davy and every member of the aviation community loved to socialize and join him in working off the stresses of the day. He loved to deep-sea dive and take his vacations in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Davy is survived by his beautiful daughter, Kelsie Meygan Crockett, his brother Richard Crockett, numerous nieces/nephews and great nieces and nephews, and a small chihuahua by the name of Cricket who served as his partner in crime in his later years. Everyone will miss Davy, but we will all carry him with us in memory as a husband, father, aviator, diver, adventurer, mentor, and friend. Davy Crockett: a life well lived. There will be a walk-through visitation 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 11th at Vincent Funeral Home, Providence Forge, VA. Private service to be held on Monday, April 12th at Vincent Funeral home with the burial at Washington Memorial Cemetery in Sandston at 1:00PM that will be open to everyone. Please observe all Covid-19 safety precautions such as wearing a mask and social distancing.

Robert David Crockett

December 5, 1947 - April 5, 2021