★★★ Memorial Monday ★★★
LCDR Robert "Trey" Clukey, III, USN '91 was lost on November 3, 2002 when the F/A-18 Hornet he was piloting crashed in the Adriatic Sea during training.
From the January-February 2003 issue of "Shipmate":
Born in Bangor, ME, a native of nearby Orono, "Trey" was a member of the ski patrol, an emergency medical technician, and a state-ranked competitive skier in high school. He received a congressional appointment to the Naval Academy from Senator William Cohen of Maine. At the Naval Academy, Trey earned a bachelor of science degree in oceanography and was a member of the offshore sailing team. He graduated in May 1991, a member of the 30th Company.
Trey attended flight training in Pensacola, FL, and Kingsville, TX, and was designated a naval aviator in September 1994. In October, he reported to VMFAT-101 at MCAS El Toro, CA, for FA-18 Hornet training. In November 1995 he reported to VFA-113 the "Stingers" in Lamoore, CA. During this tour, Trey completed two deployments to the Persian Gulf on Carl Vinson (CVN-70) and Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), flying 38 combat missions in support of operations Southern Watch and Desert Strike. He was awarded the Strike/Flight Air Medal for his actions in these operations.
Call sign "Plumbr," Trey was selected to become a strike fighter tactical instructor in October 1998. He completed the Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor training course at Top Gun in Fallon, NV and was assigned to the Strike Fighter Weapons School, Atlantic in February 1999. While at the Weapons School, he served as the weapons and tactics coordinator and was the air-to-ground employment subject matter expert for the East Coast Hornet community.
In August 2001, Trey reported to VFA-34, the "Blue Blasters," as the tactics officer and deployed on George Washington (CVN-73) in June 2002. While on deployment, Trey completed 20 combat missions over Southern Iraq and Afghanistan in support of operations Southern Watch and Enduring Freedom. He also conducted missions in operation Deliberate Forge/Decisive Guardian in support of NATO peacekeeping in Bosnia. In September 2002 he was awarded his second Strike/Flight Air Medal.
Trey is survived by his parents, Robert E. Clukey Jr. and Francis H. Clukey of Bangor, ME; and two sisters, Robin Clukey of Carmel, ME, and Christina Clukey of Bangor, ME.
To Honor! ⚓
https://usnamemorialhall.org/index.php/ROBERT_E._CLUKEY,_III,_LCDR,_USN