7 Sailors Emerged From Diverse Backgrounds to Pursue a Common Cause
Xavier Martin, 24, from Halethorpe, Md.; Shingo Douglass, 25, from San Diego; Dakota Rigsby, 19, from Palmyra, Va.; Carlos Sibayan, 23, from Chula Vista, Calif.; Ngoc T. Truong Huynh, 25, from Oakville, Conn.; Noe Hernandez, 26, from Weslaco, Tex.; and Gary Rehm Jr., 37, from Elyria, Ohio. Credit U.S. Navy, via Associated Press
David Phillips of the New York Times reports that “the seven sailors who died when the destroyer Fitzgerald collided with a container ship last weekend were a snapshot of the nation they served: an immigrant from the Philippines whose father served in the Navy before him; a poor teenager whose Guatemalan family came north eager for opportunity; a native of Vietnam hoping to help his family; a firefighter’s son from a rural crossroads in the rolling green fields of Virginia. The roll call of the dead also illustrated the degree to which the military relies on recruits from immigrant communities around the country.”
KJ