By 
Earlier today the Coast Guard bid farewell to four of its own. In a memorial service held in Hangar 2 at Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, Ala., the service paid tribute to the crew of Coast Guard helicopter 6535 – Lt. Cmdr. Dale Taylor, Lt. j.g. Thomas Cameron, Chief Petty Officer Fernando Jorge and Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Knight.
“Dale, Tom, Nando and Drew answered the call,” said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp. “They stepped forward and dedicated their lives to helping others – the only thing stronger than their desire to fly, was their desire to serve. And, they did serve – they served all of us.”
On Feb. 28, 2012, a Coast Guard helicopter, designation 6535, went down in Mobile Bay, Ala., during a training flight. The bodies of Taylor, Cameron and Jorge were recovered from the crash site. The search for Knight continues.
On behalf of the Coast Guard family, we want to thank our readers for the outpouring of support from the public, particularly the community of Mobile, over the past week. Your thoughts and prayers for our shipmates and those they left behind are both a testament to the careers of these brave Coast Guardsmen and an inspiration to those who choose to wear the uniform in service to and defense of the United States.
Below are photographs from today’s ceremony. You can also view or download video of the memorial service on the U.S. Coast Guard website.
Fair winds and following seas CG 6535! You may be gone but you will NEVER EVER EVER be forgotten! You are true heros! Our thoughts and prayers are with your families at this time! Semper Paratus!
Thank you for your service.
God bless and God speed. Thank you for your brave service.
R.I.P. Gentlemen, you service is now complete. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thoughts and prayers to your families, friends & comrades … You will not be forgotten.
Fair winds and following seas dear brothers.
My thoughts and prayers go to the families of those brave souls. Thank you for your courageous service to our country. Semper Paratus!
God Speed to those in peril on the sea.
God please grant peace to the families who sacrificed their loved ones “so others may live”…brave souls.
Rest in peace brothers for a job well done. Semper Paratus.
I was there for this memorial. VERY well done by everyone involved. I don’t think there was a dry eye there when they did the fly-by, 21 gun salute, and then played taps on the bugle. Fair winds and following seas, shipmates. We have the watch…
Don’t forget the bagpipes !
Fair Winds and Following Seas….
RIP
The good lord often calls home the best of us. They are needed for higher purpose and we are better for having them with us however briefly.
The good lord often calls home the best of us, long before we are ready to let go. For them he has a higher purpose, for us the chance to mourn, recover, and carry on with their unfinished work. Goodbye my friends.
Thank you for your service and your dedication to our Coast. Prayers to your loved ones left behind.
My heart and prayers go out to the families. These men died what they loved doing best. I’m sure your riding the seas in heaven.
It is so sad. I am proud to say my sister- in -law is a CG pilot as well – that is why we are so deeply touched by what happenned. God belss you all and thank you for your great service!
Four of our brothers crossed the bar. Fair winds and following seas shipmates.
My thoughts and prayers are with everyone…They will never be forgotten.
:'(
Thank you for your service toyour country. My prayers are with your families/
Thank you, thank you, for your service. It just doesn’t seem like enough for what all of you and your families gave. You four very brave heros are the ones I want to meet when our father calls me home. I want to personally shake your hands and look each one of you in the eye and thank you for making the ultimat sacrifice so that the rest of us can put our heads on our pillows every night knowing the brave and heroic men and women of the United States Coast Guard will do what ever it takes to protect us and our great nation as our last line of defense.
Fair Winds, Following Seas and Semper Paratus you 4 brave souls. Go with God
How did this happen?
Fair winds and following seas… true heroes
Thanks to those who risk it all to help. We ask to go in harm’s way to serve our country. We dedicate ourselves to protect and rescue the citizens of the sea. In return the sea ask’s and demands a bounty. I spent five years in the U.S. Coast Guard. In that time I knew or saw the face’s of 55 fellow Coasties who did not make it back. We do not die from bullets, we do not die fron I.E.D.s, we are taken by the elements. A faceless enemy that does not declare war. But in that five years, I was honored to serve with men and women who saved more than the sea took. I can still see the face’s lost, but I can still see the face’s saved. To the families of the lost, no words can comfort. To families of the saved their thanks keeps us going. God does not create men who defy the odds and expects them all to return. There has always been a price. I find comfort that a special place in the hereafter is reserved for those who went to help, but where lost because their love of life was stronger than fear of losing their on. Hospitalman 3rd Class Benton Mathias
I am so proud of our service men & women, and I just want to take a minute to say THANK YOU ALL for your service to our great Country! ~ May God always bless & protect you & your families. We do not forget you, or your sacrifice.
Thanks for serving your country fellow brothers.
Kevin Bandy SSGT
USAF
So sorry for your loss. Kindest regards, Patricia Stoneham, Essex, England.
My thoughts are with the family and colleagues of the four USCG crew. Ed Shivnen
Irish Coast Guard Pilot.
If you haven’t already seen all the Tribute videos for our fallen brothers, there are some stand out that are worth viewing and remembering our those we lost.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1530R65zuj8
May god grant comfort to the familes, friends and shipmates of these valiant heros. May the souls of these departed Guardians of the Seas be lifted into eternal heaven. I pray that all of you realize that your service to mankind is immeasurable and deservant of great pride and honor!
Semper Paratus
I served aboard WESTWIND (WAGB-281) in Mobile 30 years ago and went north and south with our brothers and shipmates from ATC Mobile. Although the faces and the names have changed since that time, we all are hurting because of the loss in our family. May God hold these men in the palm of His hand as we grieve and mourn alongside their families. May their relatives find comfort and peace knowing their men died doing what they loved and will not be forgotten. Godspeed & Semper Paratus!
Tom Nerney, DC2
I would just like to say thank you to everyone for your support through all of this. LT. Cmdr Dale Taylor was my cousin and the out pour of support that my family has received has been truly amazing! Thank you to the USCG for honoring these 4 men!!! God bless
May God keep their family safe always.
A very moving and exceptionally well done memorial. A real tribute to those shipmates who lost their lives helping protect and defend our country! I know the families felt the love and admiration that everybody in the Coast Guard and especially those in the ATC Mobile community have for them. May God comfort those left behind.
Lord, guard and guide the men who fly Through the great spaces in the
sky,Be with them always in the air, In dark’ning storms or sunlight
fair.O, Hear us when we lift our prayer, For those in peril in the air.
Gentlemen, your mission is complete, WELL DONE!
My heart goes out to all the families left behind.
April Zuckor
Flotilla 9-4 Bullhead city AZ
The official unofficial motto of the U.S. Coast Guard has always been,
“You have To Go Out, But You
Don’t Have To Come Back”. I am proud to have served and retired from the USCG. The men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard are the living embodiment of this motto, unofficial or not. Fair winds and following seas, shipmates. You will be remembered.
Four years and it as if it were yesterday. Our family will forever mourn your loss. You are a true hero and you will be in our hearts forever.