Remembering Robert Stephen Chauncey following a tragic boat accident

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - WTOC talking to the family of one of the victims in the tragic boat accident on the Wilmington River.

37 year old Robert Stephen Chauncey III, known to his friends and family as Stevie, was in of the two boats that collided. He wasn’t in the boat with the Leffler family.

Stephen, as his family called him, was originally from Wilmington, North Carolina, but lived in Savannah.

Stephen was a combat veteran of the US Army where he served 16 years. He was a Chief Warrant Officer III, serving as a Pilot, he flew Kiowa helicopters and C-12 airplanes. He did two tours in Afghanistan and during his 2010 tour, he was awarded the Combat Action Badge and Air Medal.

In addition to his combat deployments, he had operational deployments in Africa and South America. During his time in the military, he received the honor of being recognized twice in the Men’s Journal for his work with the Kiowa helicopter.

In 2020 he medically retired from the Army and became a Flight Instructor at FlightSafety International. He served our country with pride and flying brought him so much joy, along with being on the water, especially surfing.

While he had a lot of loves and passions in life, there was absolutely nothing he loved more than his 3 year old daughter Carson, who he sadly leaves behind.

Stephen was an American hero, a hero to his little girl and a hero to his family and friends, he will be greatly missed and his loss leaves a hole in the lives of many.

Stephen’s family is planning a visitation that will be followed by a celebration of life on the beach. Stephen will ultimately be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery where he will be honored for his service to our country.

The family is asking that in lieu of flowers or donations to funeral expenses, that donations be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, an organization that helped Stephen during a back surgery and he spoke very highly of, donations can be made at supportwwp.org/wwp.

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