Army honors soldiers lost in Morocco, reveals officer died trying to save teammate 

ANSBACH, Germany — An Army officer who died during training in Morocco was posthumously awarded the service’s highest decoration for noncombat heroism in recognition of his efforts to save a fellow soldier who had fallen into the ocean.

First Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr. received the Soldier’s Medal during a memorial ceremony in Bavaria on Monday, after which new details about the circumstances surrounding his death were made public.

Also honored was Spc. Mariyah Symone Collington, the soldier Key attempted to save, who was posthumously awarded an Army Commendation Medal.

Military statements released in May after rescuers recovered the bodies of Key and Collington said only that the two soldiers had died after they “entered the ocean” and that an investigation had been launched.

Both soldiers served with the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, a subordinate unit of the Germany-based 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command.

The Army said Monday that on May 2, after completing daily operations during exercise African Lion, Key, Collington and other soldiers took an off-duty hike to watch the sunset along the cliffs of the Cap Draa Training Area.

At about 8:15 p.m., Collington lost her footing and fell about 10 feet into the ocean. Key and other soldiers attempted to fashion an improvised rescue line, according to an Army statement.

When Collington became unresponsive, Key positioned himself to secure her, the statement said. He maintained his grip on the line until the waves overwhelmed him and carried him out to sea.

Both soldiers’ families traveled from the U.S. to attend the ceremony in the chapel at Katterbach Kaserne. About 200 soldiers and members of the Ansbach community attended, along with troops from 10AAMDC units elsewhere in Germany.

Key, 27, was remembered as a platoon leader who transformed the atmosphere in his unit and maintained a consistently positive outlook.

“He set a climate where soldiers wanted to work hard for him and with him,” said Capt. Spencer Grider, commander of Charlie Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment.

Both Key and Collington, 19, served in Charlie Battery.

Key hailed from Richmond, Va., and had set his sights on Air Assault School and Ranger School, both of which he had been slated to attend later this year, Grider said.

Lt. Col. Christopher Couch, commander of 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, recalled playing football with Key, who he said never went easy on his superiors.

“Key was tenacious, confident and humble, qualities that we see in our best leaders,” said Couch, who had recently promoted him to first lieutenant.

Collington, of Tavares, Fla., was an air and missile defense crew member who had reported to Charlie Battery in February 2025 and was promoted to specialist the day before she died.

Couch said during the ceremony that although it’s difficult to remember the names of all the roughly 600 soldiers in the battalion, he knew as soon as he heard the news from Morocco who Collington was.

“I could see her face. I could see that smile, and that is the impact she had,” Couch said.

Grider described Collington as someone defined by tenacity and good humor who made everyone feel like family.

She routinely brought ramen noodles and a small boiler to training exercises and encouraged others to bring noodles, too, something that became a running joke in the unit, Grider said.

Collington’s Army Commendation Medal, awarded for “outstanding performance and dedication to duty,” was presented to her family during the ceremony.

U.S. and Moroccan forces searched the coast near the training area for more than a week after the soldiers’ disappearance.

A Moroccan military search team recovered Key on May 9, about a mile from where he reportedly entered the ocean, U.S. Army Europe and Africa said in a statement at the time.

Collington’s remains were recovered on May 12 from a coastal cave less than a half-mile from where she fell into the water, U.S. Army Europe and Africa said.

“Specialist Collington taught us that joy is not a distraction from the mission, it’s the fuel for it,” Grider said at the ceremony. “First Lt. Key taught us that leadership isn’t a rank. It’s presence ... it’s wrestling with your soldiers one minute and mentoring them the next.”