ROBERT D. GREER, LT, USN
Robert Greer '79
Lucky Bag
From the 1979 Lucky Bag:
Robert Dwight Greer
Lynchburg, Virginia
I am still not all that I should be but I am bringing myself to bear on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling because of what Christ Jesus did for us.
To know the worth of an anchor, we must feel the strength of the storm.
Robert Dwight Greer
Lynchburg, Virginia
I am still not all that I should be but I am bringing myself to bear on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling because of what Christ Jesus did for us.
To know the worth of an anchor, we must feel the strength of the storm.
Loss
Robert was lost in a SH-2F helicopter mishap on May 1, 1983 while serving in Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 36. Contemporary newspaper reports state "the SH-2F Seasprite helicopter was on a routine training mission attempting to land aboard the USS Trippe when the accident occurred about 9:30 p.m. in the Red Sea."
Other Information
From The Pensacola News on May 3, 1983:
Greer landed a helicopter on the Trippe in hazardous seas about 11:30 p.m. CDT Sunday, but the right landing gear collapsed, toppling the aircraft off the ship's starboard side, according to Navy reports....
Greer was the 1975 valedictorian of Lynchburg Christian Academy, and its founder, Rev. Jerry Falwell, plans to conduct the memorial services for Greer.
"He was a fine young man," Falwell said in a telephone interview Monday evening. "He was one of the best students we've ever had."
Greer was a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, commissioned in 1979.
As a student at Lynchburg Christian Academy, Greer was president of his senior class and a member of the honor society, soccer team and swim team. He became an Eagle Scout at age 14 and participated in many literary, forensic and science competitions during his high school career.
Robert was survived by his wife Rebecca Lynn, his parents Robert and Betsy, a sister Suzanne Byers, and brothers Andrew and Alan.
He has a memorial marker at the Barrancas National Cemetery.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
