The Key West Tour I Never Wanted to End
Key West wasn’t just another Coast Guard assignment for me—it became a place I truly loved. I served back-to-back tours there because I never wanted to leave. At the time of this photograph, I was working at Joint Task Force Four (JTF-4). Those years…
A Vietnamese Ally—and a Survivor
Here I am with Thao’s father, a former officer in the South Vietnamese Army. He fought alongside American forces against communist North Vietnam. Captured in 1974, he endured years of imprisonment, brutal confinement, and beatings. His children were…
The Pilot Who Came Home
This story is shared in honor of Captain Ellis Spear Middleton II and his daughter, Hart Asbury, whose memory keeps his story alive. I met her on a walking track. It was just another morning—people circling, getting their steps in, doing what we all try…