Captain Keith Lucas was a graduate of the University’s ROTC program, part of the Gateway Battalion. He earned his commission upon graduating in 1979 and began his military career as a Military Intelligence Officer. Lucas went on to pilot UH‑60 Black Hawks, completing the Initial Entry Rotary Wing Course at Fort Rucker, Alabama. He was assigned to the elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment—better known as the “Night Stalkers.” During Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada on October 25, 1983, Captain Lucas was tragically killed when his helicopter was shot down, making him the unit’s first combat casualty. His valor earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, Army Aviator Badge, Air Assault Badge, and given his sacrifices, he was posthumously inducted into both the Army ROTC Hall of Fame and Gateway Battalion Hall of Fame—leaving a legacy immortalized in the motto, “Night Stalkers don’t quit”
Permissions to use photograph was granted by the Lucas Family