Statement on behalf of the family of Lieutenant Marcus Case

From Mum and Dad, and brothers and sisters Robert, Michael, Jackie, Liz and Chris:

Marcus was larger than life. He was a fun-loving but gentle and much loved member of our family. Marcus was the youngest of six very close brothers and sisters who adored each other and spent as much time together as they could.

Marcus was also the sparkle to his number one fans, his Mum and Dad.

Marcus was born to fly and spent a lifetime dedicated and focused on achieving his goal of being an Army Combat Aviator. Along the way, Marcus studied atXavierCollegeand was a brilliant rugby player, later representingAustraliainNew Zealand,Ireland,UKandCanada.

As a Reservist, he commenced studies in Science atMelbourneUniversitybut deferred to enter the Army full-time. Shortly thereafter, he began training for the Army Commandos and as a Commando, was deployed toEast Timor. Also around this time, he began his pilot training.

Marcus merged his love of flying into his extensive social life, taking those who would dare for recreational joy-flights at Lilydale Aerodrome. His favourite comment was “Are you ready for this!?”before performing some aerobatics to demonstrate his incredible skills.

Marcus will be sorely missed by his loving and very proud family as well as his large group of supportive friends. He was an idol to his niece and nephews who, when upon seeing a helicopter, would point to it and gleefully say “There goes Marcus.”

We thank the public for their support and for respecting our wishes for privacy at this time.

Background: Lieutenant Marcus Case was killed on 30 May while serving on Operations in Afghanistan.  Lieutenant Case was from the Sydneybased 6th Aviation Regiment and had deployed to Afghanistan as a Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operator.   

Images of Lieutenant Case are available at: http://images.defence.gov.au/fotoweb/Grid.fwx?archiveId=5003=&search=20112939