Family celebrates commitment to each other, to serve

  • Published
  • By 512th Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Lt. Col. Dawn Crews-Seams, 512th Airlift Wing, and her husband Wally celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary at a co-celebration at the Duncan Center in Dover Oct. 11. Also celebrating that night were her parents Retired Lt. Col. Donald and Sylvia Crews, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. 

In addition to celebrating their collective 75 years of marriage, the family also celebrated their combined 71 years of Air Force service. A member of the Crews family has served in the Liberty Wing continuously for the last 38 years. 

Father
Retired Lt. Col. Donald Crews joined the Dover Reserve unit in 1970, when it was called the 912th Military Airlift Group. He retired with more than 28 years of service as a master navigator and 9,400 flying hours in C-130Es, C-141As and the C-5A. 

Daughter
Maj. Leslie (Crews) Cote joined the 512th AW in 1984. She held various positions from administration and personnel to transportation officer and squadron adjutant before her assignment to the Pentagon as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee. 

Daughter
Lt. Col. Dawn Crews-Seams joined the wing in 1998. She served as the 512th Mission Support Group executive officer and as the 512th Memorial Affairs Squadron commander before her current appointment as the 512th AW executive officer. 

Son-in-law
Lt. Col. Chris Cote, who's married to Retired Lt. Col. Crews' daughter Leslie, joined the Air Force in 1978 and joined the 512th AW in 1988. He's a C-5 pilot who served several years as chief of the 512th AW Safety Office. 

Extended family
With roots from the U.S. Army, Retired Lt. Col. Crews' father was a soldier in the Pacific during World War II. His wife's brother Milton was also a soldier during WWII. The Air Force came into play when Retired Lt. Col. Crews' brother Hans served in Korea. The Crews' family tree also includes a female Marine from the WWII era. 

After realizing there were so many family members with a military tie, Lt. Col. Crews' grandson Spencer was once noted for saying, "Serving the country is our family business."