Rebecca Lobach's friend pays tribute to ‘brilliant and fearless’ Black Hawk pilot, ‘World won’t be the same without you’

A friend of US Army Capt. Rebecca Lobach, who died aboard the military chopper that crashed into a passenger jet in DC, has paid tribute to his late pal in an emotional post. Army vet and USA Today reporter Davis Winkie took to X to remember Lobach in an emotional post. Lobach was a decorated service member originally from Durham, North Carolina, and served in the military since July 2019.

‘This world won’t be the same without you’

“Rebecca was brilliant and fearless, a talented pilot and a PT stud. We trained and commissioned together from @UNCArmyROTC, and we had a lot of fun along the way, too,” Winkie wrote. “We were both latecomers to the ROTC program, enrolling partway through the third year, and quickly bonded over being the new kids on the block.”

Narrating an old incident, Winkie said, “Rebecca and I were in a training platoon together by coincidence during summer basic camp at Fort Knox in 2018. On “branch day,” when the cadets got to explore the different Army officer career paths, she and I were walking together through a field where a bunch of helicopters were parked. She was a few feet in front of me when she stopped, turned, and pointed out an MH-6 Little Bird (an incredibly small helicopter!). She shot me a mischievous smile and said something like, “Think we can both fit?””

He added, “My dear readers: I am 6’6”, and Rebecca (a former college basketball player) is at least 5’8”. But I’ll be damned if we didn’t somehow stuff ourselves into that cockpit. My neck hurt, and I don’t think we would’ve been able to fly it very well, but we were both beaming in the selfie she took. Our Linda’s Downbar trivia team — Two Man, Two Woman Wolfpack — was rarely victorious but was never defeated. “Not Last!” was our team motto. We sucked at the music round because all four of us had identical taste.”

Winkie also said that Lobach played an important role helping him get through hardships in his personal life, adding that the two of them remained in touch even after she became an active duty Black Hawk pilot, and he an HR officer in the NC Army National Guard. He said Lobach would call him whenever he wrote a funny or interesting story after going into journalism.

“I wish we’d taken a photo together when we had lunch a year ago. I wish I’d remembered to invite her to a party I hosted a week ago. I wish she weren’t dead,” Winkie wrote.

“You are so missed, Rebecca. This world won’t be the same without you,” he added.

Rebecca reportedly also worked as a White House social aide during the Biden administration and escorted Ralph Lauren through the White House when he won the Presidential Medal of Freedom last month. Two other soldiers were killed aboard the Black Hawk helicopter – Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Md., and Staff. Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Ga.