More detail on this person: Gerald Lee "Jerry" Crews January 1, 2026 (age 84) Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Special Forces (MACV-SOG) I hope those who frequently read obituaries will appreciate the humor and humility in my approach to this very personal obituary. Those who know me well will not be surprised at my writing, in the third person of my life's history - who better to write an obituary than the person who lived it? Furthermore, I did not want to stress my family and friends by asking them to come up with some of the same tired and often redundant expressions "he was a loving_," "he will be missed by_," "he was a devoted member of_" or other expressions of faint praise and sorrow. Hopefully, most of them would say something along the lines of "what a fun loving, full of life, character he was." So, here's my version_ Jerry's life history really started in 1965 with a minor indiscretion while celebrating his graduation from Old Dominion University, which led to a meeting with judge Sydney Kellam of Virginia Beach Virginia. Judge Kellam gave him two choices: Jail or Army. So, with a draft notice from the local draft board in hand, he reluctantly enlisted in the U.S. Army in October 1965 as a Private of the Infantry. Little did he (or his family, friends, and the Judge) know at the time: the Army would fit him like a pair of nice leather gloves. Where else could a wayward young man, with no real purpose in life, have the opportunity to travel, camp out with the guys, go to the pistol and rifle ranges, run and exercise every day, eat good food in the Army's dining facilities and get paid for it? Not much money by the way, but more than he had when he finished college. As he went through Army basic and advance individual training schools, he saw more opportunities to travel, jump out of airplanes, become a Ranger, serve in the Green Berets (Special Forces) and possibly become a real Army aviator. By the time he completed his Officer Candidate School (0CS) and received his commission as a brand-new 2nd Lieutenant, he couldn't wait to get to Vietnam for the experience of a lifetime. Most of the officer candidates in his OCS class had been to Vietnam and had such interesting stories about their experiences that Jerry knew he also wanted some of those assignments. In fact, he had to extend his enlistment contract in order to have enough time remaining in the Army to serve the required one-year tour in Vietnam. Jerry's first duty assignment was parachute school with the Army's newly formed Special Forces Group (Green Berets) at Fort Bragg N.C., in July 1967. He served as an "A" team commander in the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg. Then, in July 1966, he became an intelligence officer in the 5th Special Forces Group in the Republic of Vietnam. His first combat assignment was at the Khe Sanh Forward Operating Base 3, (FOB-3) launch site, later designated as Command-and-Control North - (CCN). He participated in coordinating and launching highly secret operations in other countries from July 1967 to July 1968 during the Viet Cong Tet offensive and siege of the 26 Marine Regiment combat base at Khe Sanh, Vietnam. As has been the case in Jerry's life many times, luck was on his side when he was at FOB 4. He happened to be on the beach of Danang having an earlier wound inspected when the camp was overrun by the Vietcong. That night 17 Americans and over 30 Vietcong were killed. He returned to the USA in August 1968, and still enjoying the Army, he assumed command of an Infantry company at Fort Jackson SC. He missed the excitement of Vietnam and wanted to get back to the war zone as a helicopter pilot. That seemed to be more fun than his first tour, being dropped into the Vietnam jungles for long periods of time while the pilots flew back to their clubs for showers, food, war stories and many evenings of libations. He graduated from flight school in August 1969, attended the Pathfinders course, Infantry Officers Advance Course and the Cobra attack helicopter course and headed back to Vietnam for a second combat tour in January 1971. This was to be the most exciting years of his life! He often said that if you weren't killed or severely injured, flying a helicopter in Vietnam had to be the most exciting adventure known to any young man. Although he had great admiration for the Navy and U.S Air Force pilots for their daring skills and contributions to the Vietnam war effort, he often joked that the Army and Marine Corps helicopter pilots were always "in the fight, not above and beyond it." He was fortunate to command the Headquarters Company of the 101st Aviation Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division and fly over 1000 combat hours during that tour. He participated in the Lam Son 719 operation, the largest helicopter combat operations ever conducted at that time. He was shot up -- and down -- in Laos. That lucky streak of his showed up again and again, so he continued flying combat support for the entire 1971 year. Returning from his 2nd tour in Vietnam, Jerry had a wide range of Command and staff assignments in Germany, the United States and on the Pentagon's Army and Joint staff's. His first, and only, non-combat arms command was as an Area Commander for the Army Recruiting Command in Jackson MS. He also extended that command to complete his Master's Degree at Mississippi College before returning to the Combat Arms as Commander of the 503rd Attack Helicopter company in the 3rd Armored Division - in Buedingen, Germany; Commander of the 502nd Combat Aviation Battalion in the 2nd Armored Division - at Fort Hood TX; and Commander of the 9th Combat Aviation Brigade (Air Attack) - at Fort Lewis WA, then the largest Aviation Brigade in the U.S. Army. Over 6 years of Aviation command allowed Jerry to transfer from the Infantry branch to the newly formed Army Aviation branch, and also allowed him to remain in the Combat Arms - the heart and soul of any fighting force. Jerry went on to serve as a Department of the Army Inspector General, Aviation assignments Branch Chief, and a J-1 Personnel officer on the Joint Chiefs of staff. While these Pentagon staff assignments were "interesting", it was his selection as Aide-de-Camp and Military Assistant to the Secretary of the Army, John O. Marsh, Jr. that was the most "exciting and challenging" any Army staff officer could imagine. He worked some of the longest and most demanding hours of any staff position he ever had during his entire Army career. Yet, he traveled, met many people, and gained experience in the politics of government and military interaction. Jerry closed out his 30-year military career in 1995 as the Division Chief of the 15,000-member Warrant Officer Corps and Executive Officer to the Director of all officer assignments in the Army. During his 30 year Army career, his many awards and decorations included the Combat Infantryman Badge, Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, three awards of the Distinguished Flying Cross, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, four awards of the Defense Meritorious Service Medal; twenty eight awards of the Air Medal, Army Presidential Unit Citation, Navy-Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation, and five awards of the Army Commendation medal. He was also inducted into the Infantry Officers Candidate School Hall of Fame at Fort Benning GA. His education and school achievements include awards of the Army Parachute Badge, Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab, Pathfinder Badge, Master Army Aviation Badge, a Commercial Pilots License and the Army and Joint Staff Identification Badges. He is a graduate of the National War College, Armed Forces Staff College, Army rotary wing flight school, Infantry Officers Advance Course, and has a Master's degree in Sociology from Mississippi College in Clinton MS. Upon his retirement from the Army in March 1995, Jerry changed careers --and changed wives. After a chance meeting with an old high school "friend" (Andrea "Andi" Eason Moorefield)_ have you heard this story before?... He joined the staff of the Military Officers Association of America in Alexandria VA. For the next 14 years Jerry and his wife Andi traveled the free world, giving lectures and advice on overcoming the career transition "challenges" faced by the military. Additionally, Jerry wrote monthly career transition articles for MOAA's magazine and other military publications. His book Jump Start Your Career was a culmination of his experiences in helping military members prepare for their transition into the civilian world after military service. His lifelong dedication to the military included being a Life Member of the Military Officer's Association of America, the Vietnam Helicopters Pilots of America, the Vietnam Veterans of America, and the Army Aviation Association of America. Colonel Crews is also a charter member of the Army Historical Foundation and founding sponsor of the National Museum of the U.S. Army. His retirement from MOAA in 2009 concluded a lifetime of work, that started with delivering newspapers as a paper boy in Norfolk, Virginia to enjoying a life of leisure in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Jerry and Andi filled their retirement years with family, friends, more travels, lots of Carolina Shag dancing, golfing, reading, Jerry's limited karaoke career, and most importantly, loving each other. While this obituary is all about me - my wonderful wife would say "it's always been about Jerry" - so, I will now discuss the most important event in my life - my marriage and life with Andrea (Andi). We were briefly friends during our Norview High School years, going to the local beaches and dancing together at many social events. We were both "good" dancers and enjoyed each other's company, but we moved on with our lives. We had not seen each other in over 30 years while I was serving in the Army. Then, my next-door neighbor, a fellow Army aviator, invited me to Virginia Beach for the weekend. We were both divorced and enjoying life to the fullest. Andi was a widow and just beginning to find a single life when we met that weekend at a Carolina Shag dance event. We dated for a few years and were married in Key West Florida. We have been together for over 30 years. This is truly a match made in heaven. Each of us bring complementary strengths to our marriage. She likes to cook, I like to eat; she is a great dancer and I follow her leads; I do most of the driving, she can read a map better than an Army Ranger; we watch the TV shows Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune together, she knows most of the answers and I don't even understand the questions - so she politely explains them to me. I get "tight" about a lot of unnecessary things, she settles me down with her quiet explanations of the facts. This complementary relationship has been the best thing to ever happen in my life. There is much more to love about her but, remember, the obituary is about me. Survivors include his wife Andrea Moorefield Crews of Myrtle Beach S.C. his daughter, Bari and her husband Blue Melnick of Charleston, SC; Holly and her husband Tony Stanley; their two children, Greysen and Rylyn Stanley of New Town Square, Pennsylvania; his son Jeffry and wife Allison of Anchorage, Alaska; and his sisters, Judy Crews Miller and Janice Crews Capra of Virginia Beach, VA. Jerry's family will have a private celebration of his life with immediate family and close friends; interment at Arlington National Cemetery will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Vietnam Veterans of America.
Burial information: Arlington National Cemetery
This information was last updated 01/08/2026
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Date posted on this site: 02/07/2026
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