A military helicopter collision Wednesday night in Falcon State Park in South Texas, along the Mexican border, took the life of Penn State alumnus David Cross.
The 34-year-old Cross was also a State College Area High School graduate. He and three other Marine reservists were aiding the Border Patrol in a drug case when the two AH1W Super Cobra helicopters crashed. There were no survivors.
Cross grew up in Alexandria, Va., before his family moved to State College in 1985. After high school, he became a communications major at Penn State, his father said, and spent a lot of time at Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, 417 E. Prospect Ave., where he was a member.
Cross enlisted in the Marines while still a college student. After he graduated in 1991, he became one of 10 to be admitted to the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Fla.
As of last week he was based in Camp Pendleton, Calif., where he had learned to fly the Cobra helicopters.
"He was very determined to become a pilot, and he did do that," said Cross' father, also David Cross. "It was a hard thing to accomplish from the position he started out at."
Cross' younger brother, Dan, is a student at Columbia University in New York City.
"If he had a goal, he would do anything to achieve that goal," said Dan Cross of his brother.
"He was also the guy who would quite literally give you the shirt off his back."
Dan Cross described his brother as not only someone he looked up to, but also one of the funniest people he had ever met.
"He once told us a story about a pizza that had about five of us rolling on the floor," he said. "Something as trivial as a pizza, but he had a way of making it funny."
Cross' college roommate and best friend, Joe Renda of Washington, N.J., remembers Cross as one of the most honest men he'd ever known, a loyal person who would do anything for his friends.
He was also very determined, Renda said.
"We lived together, and one morning I got up and Dave wasn't around," Renda said. "I got ready for class, and as I was going out the door he came in completely drenched in sweat. He said, 'I decided to do the Marine Corps Marathon and so I just ran 15 miles.' And just a few weeks later he completed the Marine Corps Marathon," he said.
Around that time, Cross' goals shifted to becoming a Marine, and then a pilot, Renda said.
"If I'm not mistaken, he was one of the top-rated pilots in his class. After he completed his requirements to become a pilot, he was working at the base, training younger pilots," Renda said.
"I can't stress enough what a kind, generous person he was ... a great representative of our country."
Renda and Dan Cross both recounted David Cross' love for motorcycles, the martial arts -- he was a black belt in karate, Renda said -- automobiles, and aircraft.
On road trips he would often play his favorite Motown music by groups like the Temptations and the Four Tops, and his favorite movie was The Right Stuff, Renda said.
"I remember watching that movie with him once and he got so invigorated by it that he started exercising, doing push ups and sit-ups and stuff," Renda said.
David is also survived by his mother, Gwynn Cross of San Antonio; his stepmother, Linda Cross, of Reston, Va.; his stepsister, Kathy McClintic, of State College; and his girlfriend, Heather Rand, of Carlsbad, Calif.
"They were dating for about five years, and, from what Dave said about her, she is just a really wonderful person," Renda said of Rand. "We've lost not only a great Marine but also someone who was a great friend to many people," he said.
Dan Cross said he regretted not having more opportunities to see his brother in the last few years.
"One always thinks you have tomorrow to call someone, especially with a sibling you have around you your entire life," Dan Cross said.
David Cross's father said his son will be buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. A memorial service will be held next week at Camp Pendleton for all four of the reservists who died.
"He was probably the best man I knew," Renda said. "I think he deserves to be honored."
