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a us navy A sailor has drowned while saving his children from large waves and strong currents on the beach Airport,
Master-at-Arms 1st Class Jeffrey Diaz, 47, who was assigned to the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands on Kauai, Hawaii, died Saturday, just a day before his 48th birthday.
According to reports, he was with his three sons on the beach at Waiapua Bay, just outside the front of his military residence, when a strong wave pulled his 9-year-old son, Kamden, into the sea.
He told his older son, 12-year-old Jesse, to run back to the house and sound the alarm before going into the water to rescue Kamden, and to help his other son, his partner, Keona Fairley. told KBTX3 News,
“From my kiss [younger] The son said, he was in the middle of the ocean, and his father was swimming with one hand trying to get him to safety,” Fairley said. “Then he got on his father’s back and swam a little bit. Then my son said Jeff told him, ‘Okay, bub, you have to get off my back. I’m going to drown.”
Meanwhile, Fairley said she “went back to the beach and started looking and screaming,” she told Hawaii News Now,
Fairley said Diaz’s last words were an act of encouragement to his youngest son.
“‘I want you to go. I want you to swim. Don’t stop. You’ve got this. Don’t give up. I love you.’ Those were the last words he heard from his father,” she said.
Fairley said Camden eventually managed to swim back to shore.
“She said she looked back to make sure her dad was behind her and she said, ‘Mom, he was too far away, and he was yelling ‘help.’ He was screaming, ‘Help, help!’ Fairley said.
In a statement, the Kauai Police Department said, “On Saturday, November 22, at approximately 3:00 p.m., first responders were dispatched to Waiapua Bay, near Shenanigans Bar and Restaurant, following a report of a swimmer in distress.
“The man had gone into the water to rescue two children who were struggling in the high waves. While the children returned safely to shore, he encountered distress in the water.
“Ocean Safety Bureau and Barking Sands Fire and Emergency Services Department personnel pulled the man from the water and began life saving efforts. He was taken to Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.”
He added: “The Kauai Police Department extends its condolences to the family and loved ones of Master-at-Arms 1st Class Jeffrey Diaz during this difficult time.”
Fairley said her family was only on Kauai for three months, but the couple, who had been together for 18 years, planned to marry, and Diaz planned to retire with everyone living in Hawaii after this deployment.
Diaz enlisted in the Navy in 1997 and previously served aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Ross and Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia. The Military Times Gave the news of his death. He was promoted to Master-at-Arms 1st Class in 2022.
The publication said his awards and decorations include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Navy Unit Commendation and the Kosovo Campaign Medal.
In addition to his children with Fairley, Diaz leaves behind two grown children and a grandson.