Navy sailor dies while rescuing children from high surf in Hawaii

A Navy sailor died in Hawaii while rescuing two children who were struggling to swim in the ocean, officials said Monday. The sailor was identified by the Kauai Police Department as Master-at-Arms 1st Class Jeffrey Diaz, 47. His wife Keyonna Fairley told CBS affiliate HawaiiNewsNow that he was swimming in Kauai’s Waiapua’a Bay with their two sons. The bay is on the grounds of the Pacific Missile Range Facility, where Diaz was stationed. Diaz and the boys were in the water when the younger child was pulled out by a strong wave, Fairley told HawaiiNewsNow. Fairley told the affiliate that Diaz instructed the older child to swim back to shore, then went out to rescue his younger son. “From what my son said, he was in the middle of the ocean and his dad was swimming with one arm trying to get him to safety,” Fairley told HawaiiNewsNow. “Then he got on his dad’s back and swam for a little bit and then my son said that Jeff told him, ‘Ok bub, you’re going to have to get off my back. I’m going to drown. I want you to go. I want you to swim. Don’t stop. You got this. Don’t give up. I love you.’ That was the last words he heard from his dad.” Fairley and the police said both children made it safely back to shore. First responders received a report of a swimmer in distress at around 3 p. m. local time. Responders recovered Diaz from the ocean and began lifesaving efforts. He was then transported to the Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. An autopsy is pending, police said. “The Kaua’i Police Department extends its condolences to the family and loved ones of Master-at-Arms 1st Class Jeffrey Diaz during this difficult time,” police said in a statement. Fairley told HawaiiNewsNow that the family has been on Kauai for three months and that Diaz planned to retire from the military after this deployment.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/navy-sailor-drowns-hawaii-waiapuaa-bay-jeffrey-diaz/