When the U.S. Army identified Capt. Rebecca Lobach as the third soldier killed in the Black Hawk helicopter crash over the Potomac River in January, it drew national attention. In Lobach’s hometown of Durham, North Carolina, her friends and family began to grieve, honoring her memory and celebrating the life she lived.

Growing up, Lobach worked hard. Whether she strived to excel in school or on her homeschool basketball team, friends and family remember Lobach’s focus and drive—traits that applied to her career in the Army.

“[Lobach] was a bright star in all our lives,” her family wrote in a statement. “She was kind, generous, brilliant, funny, ambitious and strong. No one dreamed bigger or worked harder to achieve her goals.”

From 2012 to 2014, Lobach played on the Durham Flight Homeschool varsity basketball team, becoming the captain her senior year. She also played on the middle school and junior varsity teams.

Two of Lobach’s former coaches, Tom Irby and Lydia Vargas Banham, shared their admiration for her in a statement released by Durham Flight.

“Rebecca was very focused,” Irby wrote. “She was always ready to play, and I don’t remember her ever having a bad game.”

Irby, who coached Lobach on the varsity team, wrote that along with being the team’s highest scorer, she acted as a leader to the younger players and always maintained a positive attitude.

“It was clear that whatever she did, she did it to the best of her ability,” Irby stated. “We are all going to miss her in our lives.”

Vargas Banham coached Lobach for four years on the middle school and junior varsity teams. In her statement, she noted Lobach’s graciousness and work ethic as a player.

“She was one of the reasons we won games,” Vargas Banham stated. “Whether it was her scoring, assisting another player or drawing the defense. A coach could not have been happier with a player.”

Both coaches wrote that Lobach was easy to coach and be around. She showed constant kindness to her teammates, worked hard and dreamed big.

“I lost touch after those years but reading all that she went on to accomplish comes as no surprise,” Vargas Banham wrote. “She believed she could do anything she put her mind to!”

After high school, Lobach participated in UNC-Chapel Hill’s Army ROTC program, known as the Tar Heel Battalion, while actively serving in the North Carolina National Guard. She graduated a distinguished military graduate in 2019, ranking in the top 20% of cadets nationwide.

After enlisting in the Army, Lobach achieved the rank of Captain, served as a Platoon leader twice and served as a Company Executive Officer in the 12th Aviation Battalion. After achieving over 450 hours of flight time, she earned a certification as a pilot-in-command.

Lobach also served as a White House Military Social Aide and a certified Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Victim Advocate. Her family wrote that she always strived to make a difference and help others.

“Rebecca was many things. She was a daughter, sister, partner, and friend,” her family’s statement reads. “She was a servant, a caregiver, an advocate. Most of all, she loved and was loved.”

In 2023, Lobach paid thanks to her alma mater, UNC-CH, by reaching out to the Tar Heel Battalion with an exciting opportunity.

“She reached out to our program and offered up this opportunity for several cadets to travel up to…Fort Belvoir, Virginia, just for the day,” Cadet Braxton Brown said.

In October 2023, Brown and a group of cadets from the Tar Heel Battalion drove to Fort Belvoir to meet with Lobach. She walked the cadets through a typical day in an aviation unit, Brown said.

“From the very get-go, just interacting with [Lobach], you could easily tell…how much of a charismatic leader she was, how caring and selfless she was,” Brown said. “I think it was a big testament to her character that she continued to display.”

Lobach welcomed the Tar Heel Battalion with open arms, Brown said. She encouraged the cadets to ask her questions and offered them advice about the Army.

“She really took us under her wing and brought us along throughout the day,” Brown said.

Brown and his fellow cadets sat in on meetings and flew around Washington, D.C. with Lobach and several other pilots. Spending the day with her provided valuable training experience and demonstrated just how caring of a leader Lobach was, Brown said.

“Interacting with her just that one time, just that one day, you could really tell how she cared about the future success of all the cadets here in our battalion,” Brown said.

Despite not knowing the cadets before that day, Brown said Lobach treated them with kindness and they learned a lot from her.

“She went above and beyond to put together this training opportunity for several cadets to come up that she had never met before,” Brown said. “Just because we were here in the UNC Army ROTC Battalion, she instantly cared about us.”

Lobach prioritized leaving a legacy and impacting the future of others, Brown said. He wants people to remember that the most.

“A big thing just to remember about [Lobach] is that as a leader, she truly was just a professional and really committed to the profession of the Army and leaving a positive impact on the future officers going into the military,” Brown said.