US NAVY SEAL MUSEUM—

Fort Pierce, Florida

The museum volunteer’s voice broke with emotion as he asked me if I recognized any connection between him and the men in the US Navy SEAL, Medal of Honor Memorial I was pondering.

“The second man from the left is my brother,” he said with quiet modesty.

And, his voice broke again as he shared the story of his brother’s heroism.

I watched his eyes tear as his consciousness wandered from me and he became one with his warrior brother and the story of his gallantry.

The SEAL Museum is in Fort Pierce because that is the location of the very first US Navy “Frogman” training facility which was launched there at the beginning of World War II.

“Frogmen” have evolved into the most elite commando force in the world, the US Navy SEALs.  The mission of the museum is to preserve the legacy and history of those SEAL teams.

The volunteer tour guides are quick to point out only 8,000 men have successfully completed Seal training out of over 60,000 who have tried—exclusively males and exclusively members of either the US Navy or US Coast Guard.

To wear the Trident symbol of the US Navy SEALs candidates have to complete the most rigorous physical and mental challenges known in the world of training for special forces soldiers.

This museum contains the artifacts from all our nation’s wars where the SEALs have quietly gone about the accomplishment of their deadly missions.

An artifact of one fairly recent event brought the reality of their service to the level of making a visitor’s skin crawl.  The lifeboat from the super-cargo ship Maersk Alabama is on display on the museum’s grounds. 

 

That was the event where Somali pirates held the captain of that ship hostage under grueling conditions and SEAL sharpshooters ended the ordeal with precision and fatal sniper fire.

My interlude with the warrior’s brother passed quietly and he smiled as he comforted me with the news his brother was very much alive and well, and enjoying his ranch in the mountain foothills of Idaho.

LT Tom Norris’s citation for conspicuous gallantry describes his ground rescue of two downed pilots from deep within enemy controlled territory of Vietnam over a three day period in April of 1972.

I found myself thankful to learn life had gone on to treat this museum volunteer’s, gallant brother kindly.

Dick Cleckner and Sue Brooks begin their tour of the SEAL Museum with a look at a high-speed boat used in river and coastal warfare (top).  A bronze casting (lower) of a navy SEAL in scuba equipment swims on a pedestal at the outside memorial to all SEALs who have lost their lives in combat or training for combat.