Navy Visual News Service

Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Patrick Gearhiser

USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER - Nearly a thousand Eisenhower Strike Group Sailors gathered in the hangar bay of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower June 27, for a memorial service remembering Carrier Air Wing 7 Command Master Chief Jeffrey J. Garber.

Garber died June 20 in his stateroom aboard the deployed aircraft carrier. Initial indications are that his death was from natural causes.

Memorial services on the ship and in Virginia were held a half a world away from each other, but both began at the same moment thus simultaneously honoring Garber's life and service to country.

Onboard IKE, the memorial service was filled with stories and memories as Sailors gathered and listened to their shipmates recount the impact Garber had on their lives.

"When I think back about Jeff Garber," said Master Chief Petty Officer Willie Washington, VFA-131 "Wildcats" Command Master Chief, "I remember his calm, personal demeanor and how he never had to raise his voice to get his point across."

Rear Adm. Kurt W. Tidd, Commander, Carrier Strike Group Eight, expressed a heartfelt message for the Garber family.

"We out here are Jeff's 'other' family...and we hold Jeff's real family now in our hearts and in our prayers." "There is no shame in admitting to ourselves that we will miss this wonderful man we came to love," he added.

Capt. Calvin Craig, CVW-7 commander, gave the final remarks by reading a message from Garber's wife Amy. She wrote, "He truly loved what he was doing and couldn't wait to get on the ship and spend time 'below decks' with the Sailors." "He didn't like leaving us, but knew that we loved, supported and believed that the job he was doing was making a difference," added Craig as he continued to read from Amy's message.

Craig finished his comments with praise for Garber and his "Do-It" attitude toward life and the Navy.

"Jeff worked hard at everything he did, while making it look effortless because of who he was," he said. "He was an excellent Command Master Chief, excellent confidant, excellent friend, father and devoted husband."

Following Craig's remarks, Garber was posthumously awarded the Legion of Merit medal recognizing his accomplishments as the CVW-7's Command Master Chief and his 24 years of loyal and faithful service to his country.

The service concluded with a 21-gun salute off the hangar bay elevator and "Taps" played by Aviation Electrician's Mate First Class (Air Warfare) Carl Davis, a bugler from one of the embarked squadrons.

The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is underway for a regularly scheduled deployment in support of the on-going rotation of forward-deployed forces to support Operation Enduring Freedom, maritime operations and operate in international waters across the globe.

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