Photo By Tech. Sgt. Christopher Hubenthal | (From left to right) U.S. Coast Guard Command Master Chief Petty Officer Ronny German,...... read more read more
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HONOLULU – More than 20 years after their first encounter in a small atoll known as Woleai, U.S. Coast Guard Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Ken Raigeluw and Master Chief Petty Officer Ronny German realized they had met during Operation Hand Clasp through a shared photo.
Command Master Chief German, Coast Guard Sector Honolulu, brought in photos from his trip in 1993 after talking about their experiences.
“I had a photo of a group of kids on a wooden boat that’s on the beach,” said German. Upon showing Raigeluw, “he just turned pale and said ‘That’s me, that’s my friend, that’s my other friend, that’s my cousin…”
The picture is the only childhood photo of Raigeluw, a picture that reminds him of the day that changed his life forever.
Raigeluw said that the day the U.S. Coast Guard came to his small island home those many years ago remains one of his fondest childhood memories. Growing up on Woleai, technology was scarce and outside visitors were rare.
“We had one VHF radio on the island so this person told everyone there was a boat coming,” Raigeluw said. “When we heard about the [U.S. Coast Guard Cutter CGC Basswood (WLB-388)] coming to our island that day we were super excited and that was my first exposure to the Coast Guard.”
German, then a 21 year old man, was one of the crew members who visited that day.
“It was 23 years ago, I just joined the Coast Guard,” German said. “Woleai was a small island that had no port to pull into so we had to anchor out and bring small boats ashore. We were told that there was no power, no water… they had a generator so they could listen to the radio to know when storms were coming but that was about it.”
When the Coast Guard touched down on the beach of Woleai they brought with them people and equipment that could help provide aid and support for the locals if there was a need.
“We brought doctors and dentists ashore to look at any of the people and see if they needed any teeth pulled, had any major medical issues, and it was also a kind of morale event,” German said. “We brought barbecues ashore; steak and ice cream, and we were cooking for the local people. At the same time they went fishing for us and caught a whole bunch of lobsters for us.”
Raigeluw was able to interact with the Coast Guardsmen and was invited to see how they lived and operated.
“They even took us to go out on the boat and gave us a tour,” Raigeluw said. “Stepping onto that cutter… that’s the moment that it changed my life.”
German took pictures for his scrapbook throughout the day, documenting both his crew mates and the locals. Unbeknownst to him at the time, one simple photo would end up meaning a great deal to Raigeluw years later.
Raigeluw held onto the memory of that day throughout the following years and after having another chance encounter with the Coast Guard, he decided to enlist. Today Raigeluw works at the district office and supports units in Hawaii, Guam, and American Samoa.
“BM1 has an awesome reputation,” German said. “His sphere of influence is huge. Every unit has contact with him in some capacity. He always has a smile on his face and always impacts people in a positive way on a daily basis so he’s doing great work for the Coast Guard.”
Despite his accomplishments and success in the Coast Guard Raigeluw still stays humble and attributes where he is today to his past experience.
“It always brings me back to that one moment,” Raigeluw said. “Who would know that I would be here in the Coast Guard… coming from a small place where outside influence is so rare. Master Chief, that day that you came to my island changed my life forever. If it weren’t for that moment, and for the picture that you took, you made a difference in somebody’s life… that would be me. That is my life that you changed that moment you came to my island.”
| Date Taken: | 08.17.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 08.19.2016 19:47 |
| Story ID: | 207756 |
| Location: | HONOLULU, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 930 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Picture means more than words for Coast Guardsman, by TSgt Christopher Hubenthal, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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