To the men who gave it all, I have no idea where to start. There are no words sufficient enough to honor you all for your sacrifice. You do not deserve this. Your families do not deserve this. Your crew members do not deserve this. But you signed the papers knowing that one day it might come to this, and willingly walked onto that bus at MEPS with the full understanding that you might eventually have to do exactly what you did. You gave your all to protect the country you loved. You paid the sacrifice that so many of us would never be able to pay. And for this, the citizens of the United States, myself included, will forever be indebted to you.
I will not pretend to know the pain and grief that your families and friends are feeling right now. I can’t imagine much that could be more disrespectful than that. I did not have the honor of knowing a single one of you, but I know that if I had, it would have been an honor. I am, however, the daughter of a sailor, as well as the sister of one, and my biggest fear in life is losing one or both. My two favorite sailors mean the absolute world to me and just the thought of having to go through what your families are going through brings me to tears. The love that your family has for you is, undoubtedly, as relentless as the love I have for my own guys. Maybe even more now that you’re gone. You were each someone’s son, someone’s brother, someone’s grandson, someone’s nephew, someone’s cousin, and someone’s friend. My heart hurts for you and for those you left behind. I’ve bowed my head multiple times since the incident and prayed for you and your families, and thanked God that my brother is safe in Great Lakes and my daddy is safe in my home, and I am not sure that those prayers will ever stop. I get to fly back to Chicago this week and walk onto Naval Station Great Lakes and throw my arms around my brothers neck and the necks of his friends that I have come to love like my own family and praise God for His grace and mercy and for giving me another trip to spend with them, and I cannot stop crying thinking of the fact that your families will never again get to have that same feeling. Now the words on my laptop screen keep looking blurrier and blurrier as I write to you. I wish I could hug all your parents and your siblings and your grandparents and your friends and thank them for giving you guys away to the Navy so that we can live in freedom like we do. I pray every single day that I will never have to know sacrifice the way that they do now.
However, it was brought to my attention as I was writing this piece that the men and women who are often pushed to the back of a tragedy like this also deserve the utmost thankfulness- the sailors who did make it off of the ship. To the crew of the USS Fitzgerald: I shouldn’t be the first to tell you that you are heroes. Had it not been for you, and how quickly you jumped into action and did what you were trained to do, there is no telling how many more sailors could have been lost. Because of you, kids got to hug their parents again, daddies and mommies got to squeeze their children, brothers and sisters got to give their siblings hell for what now will not be the last time. No one is feeling the pain of that day like you are. You are a family. You had to walk off of the ship knowing that you were not able to save them all, and I cannot imagine a pain so gut-wrenching. But I pray to our Maker that you do not forget just how many people you saved. I know that there are no words that will ever stop you from feeling the guilt that you made it to shore and a few did not, but know that there is a reason that God called them home before you. Cling to each other. Hug the crap out of your shipmates and cry together and pray for peace and understanding like there’s no tomorrow, because you never know if there will be. My heart hurts so badly for you.
There is an atmosphere between servicemen and women that almost cannot be explained unless you have sat in the middle of it and watched the way that they interact and take care of each other. There is a loyalty that cannot be matched anywhere else. There is an unfailing, unconditional love that practically cannot be compared to any love other than God’s. I spent a few days last month with my brother and his best friends in Great Lakes and was absolutely blown away by the sincerity of the way that they care for each other, and how they cared for me. Sure, they fight like siblings, but that’s because at the end of the day that’s exactly what they are. They’re family. They have a bond that is irreplaceable. I grew up knowing this sort of love from my dad, and always thought that it was simply because he was my dad, but after spending so much time on base with my brother and getting attached to his friends that I now get to claim as my own, I know that a large part of the way that he loves came from the 23 years that he served. I’m sure that at this point I’m rambling, but I just wish the whole world could experience the relationship between a sailor and his or her shipmates. Its selflessness and persistence has not been lost on me.
To Gunner’s Mate Seaman Dakota Kyle Rigsby, 19, from Palmyra, Virginia: I hold you in my heart a little more. Like I said previously, I did not have the honor of knowing you. However, I have friends in the Navy who did. Watching them hurt, even from a distance, hurts me, but I know it does not even compare to the hurt that they and your family are feeling. As a firefighter, you were serving your community even before your enlistment. Your willingness to serve others will never be forgotten. Thank you beyond words for your service and sacrifice, and may God bless your soul.
To Yeoman 3rd Class Shingo Alexander Douglass, 25, from San Diego, California: I know you were the son of a marine and you grew up in Japan, the same country where you would eventually leave your shipmates. I know that you were proud to be a sailor, and that your father, retired Master Sergeant Stephen Douglass, and your mom both love you to pieces, and they probably know the magnitude of your sacrifice more than most. Thank you so much for your lifelong devotion to the military and for the sacrifice you gave for our country. May God bless your soul.
To Sonar Technician 3rd Class Ngoc T. Truong Huynh, 25, from Oakville, Connecticut: I know that you were described by those who you loved and who loved you as sweet and selfless, a man cut right out for the military. Thank you so much for that selflessness. We all wish you had not had to pay the price, but we are grateful beyond words for your willingness to pay it. You are so loved and so missed by your friends and family. Thank you, and God bless you.
To Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Noe Hernandez, 26, from Weslaco, Texas: I cannot imagine the size of the hole left in the hearts of your wife and your young son. I pray for their peace, and I pray that your son will grow up knowing how great his father was, and of his love, selflessness, and devotion. According to articles that I have read, your family was immensely proud of you and how far you had come from your family’s poverty in Guatemala. You had already served 8 years of hard work for the Navy and the citizens of this country who bask in the freedom you helped maintain for us will forever be indebted to you. Thank you so much for your sacrifice, and God bless you.
To Fire Controlman 2nd Class Carlos Victor Ganzon Sibayan, 23, from Chula Vista California: I know that you grew up in a military family and that your father was often gone due to his service, requiring you to step up within the family, so I know that you felt the commitment to the military especially. According to the Washington Post, your mom said something that touched my soul and that I cannot get off my mind now as I write. “We just borrow this time from God,” she said. “So now he has to go back.” The truth in that statement resonates so deeply with me. God blessed your family and your shipmates with the time that they were given to spend with you. They will hold that time in their hearts and long for it every single day for the rest of their lives. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten. Thank you, and may God bless your soul.
To Personnel Specialist 1st Class Xavier Alec Martin, 24, from Halethorpe Maryland: I watched a CNN interview with your father while I was beginning this letter and I cried like a child. I do not think that anyone could listen to the way that your father called you his best friend and not feel his love for you in their souls and in their tear ducts. You tried to call him in the middle of the action, tried to tell you that you loved him at least one last time. My biggest fear is seeing that missed call on my phone, and finding sailors on the doorstep of my parents’ home. You are so loved and so missed. Thank you for your sacrifice, and God bless you.
And last but most definitely not least, to Fire Controlman 1 to Fire Controlman 1st Class Gary Leo Rehm Jr., 37, from Elyria, Ohio: I do not have the words to thank you in the slightest. You were a Fire Controlman, just like my daddy, my brother, most of my Navy friends, and FC2 Sibayan. Many sources tell us that you saved several of your shipmates and went back to save more, but were unable to make it out yourself. No words could ever be more fitting for you that Jesus’s own in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” The mere thought that someone like you would have been there to help save someone like my brother had he been on the USS Fitzgerald in that berthing compartment, and that I know my daddy would have done the same thing as you had he been in your shoes, knocks me to my knees with thankfulness, humility, sorrow, and praise. Your love is humbling. The magnitude of your sacrifice is nearly incomprehensible. Thank you a million times over. May God bless your soul.
I asked my daddy, my brother, and some of our close friends what they would say to you all, both those who are here and those who are not if they could. I think the words of other sailors encompass the thankfulness and honor that you are owed more than my words could ever manage.
“I would say even in the darkest of times to stay strong. You have shown the navy what team work and family can do. Hold your head up. Be proud. Take time to grieve and seek help where needed. Thank you for your service and your sacrifice.”
–Commander Russel Sanchez
“I didn’t have the privilege to know you all personally, though I wish that I could have. You will all be missed and remembered. There’s even talk of the naming of the next DDG to be the USS Rehm in honor of FC1 for his heroic actions saving the lives of 20 sailors, and sacrificing himself to attempt to save more. The petition is already being passed around. In my time in the navy I have already been thanked many times for my service. At first this was very awkward since I felt I hadn’t done anything but school, but situations like this are why there’s no hesitation. At any time we may give our lives for our country, regardless of how long we’ve been in our rank. To do so is the ultimate sacrifice and for that we salute you. We have the watch. Fair winds and following seas.”
–Fire Controlman 3rd Class Robert Quinn
“Dakota Rigsby, as a friend, a shipmate, and a brother, I’m heartbroken. You deserve so much out of life. Rest in peace. To his family, I hope you hear the amount of respect he earned from his buddies. Always a good story and a good time with him. Quiet at times, funny at others. Serious when required. I’m so sorry. He was one of a kind.”
-Fire Controlman 3rd Class Stephen Baugh
When I asked Baugh specifically, he went on to say “It’s not just the dead who deserve the honor, but people only remember the worst. Try and remember that the good guys made it out too.”
“To the fallen- we salute you, we honor you, and we will remember you. All gave some, but some gave all. To the survivors- take time to grieve, but do not let your shipmates deaths be in vain. Hold your heads high. Draw strength from your fallen shipmates, and the others who love you, and honor those who were lost by preparing your ship to fight again.”
–Fire Controlman Senior Chief Mark G. Lewis
“As sailors, we practice multiple procedures to help ensure our safety aboard our ship. We try to eliminate not all, but most of the risks that could arise as we do our duties. We are prepared for anything thrown at us. On that day, our readiness was tested. You all demonstrated our core values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment. Although I did not know you all personally, I can say one thing. We salute you. To the seven sailors who lost their lives, to the many survivors. We must carry on and keep this accident close at heart. Anything can happen, and we must be ready for it. ‘Non sibi sed patriae’ – ‘Not self but country”.”
-Fire Controlman 3rd Class Shannon Russell
“Even though I didn’t know most of you, you will be missed and remembered. Thank you for your service to our country. Rest easy. We have the watch. Fair winds and following seas.”
–Fire Controlman 3rd Class Samuel Keltner
Works Cited
Selk, Avi. "7 Sailors Died aboard the USS Fitzgerald. Here Are Their Stories." The Washington Post. WP Company, 19 June 2017. Web. 25 June 2017.
"Father of Fallen Sailor: He Was My Best Friend - CNN Video." CNN. Cable News Network, 21 June 2017. Web. 25 June 2017.
"The Seven Sailors Who Died in USS Fitzgerald Collision." CNN. Cable News Network, 19 June 2017. Web. 25 June 2017.
