Navy helicopter with five aboard crashes off San Diego coast

That was the headline of the Coronado Times story on May 20, 2009.

It read—

“Operating off the coast of California, the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz got word that the SH60 Seahawk helicopter went down during a training exercise at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to Lt. Candice Tresch, a Navy spokeswoman in Washington.”

In the time between 2006 and 2009, these young Naval Aviators lived the life you scroll through in social media— parties, working hard, work-ups, deployments, being young, being in love, and serving their country in a role that came with enormous risk.

Colter and Allison were both among the 2006 cohort of LTJG helicopter pilots just starting their careers in the U.S. Navy on the famed island of Coronado.Allison was an intelligent, adventurous, and beautiful person and Colter fell in love. They married in the fall of 2008 in a San Diego courthouse.

Many service members marry at courthouses and then hold a formal wedding later, when their duty permits. When two service members wed at a courthouse, it’s to be stationed together for their next set of orders. Two service members who are married receive priority in selection for their next detail. It’s a paperwork formality that allows for a larger celebration when the time is right.

Most Aviators with whom Allison and Colter served didn’t yet know the couple was married. Colter said Allison wanted their big day to feel special, so it was important to her that only a few close friends know their exciting news. Allison didn’t want to wear wedding rings yet either, not until they were formally married. Colter honored that. He wouldn’t wear his wedding ring until after she died in that crash on May 19, 2009, along with four fellow Sailors.

Colter once said, they didn’t think it [death] could happen to them. It was the worst day of Colter’s life.

The narrative that follows is the story of the Navy’s social media tale that erupted and is ever evolving in the aftermath of this tragedy. Policy is ignored, privacy is violated, and ethics are breached. Navy helicopter crashes

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