The final words of heroic Navy sailor who died saving the lives of two swimmers are revealed

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Jeffrey Diaz saved his two children before he drowned off the coast of Hawaii

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A US Navy sailor has drowned while rescuing his children from large waves and strong currents at a beach in Hawaii.

Master-at-Arms 1st Class Jeffrey Diaz, 47, who was assigned to the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands on Kauai, Hawaii, died Saturday, just one day before his 48th birthday.

According to reports, he had been with his three sons on the beach at Waiapua‘a Bay, outside the front of their military housing, when a strong wave pulled his 9-year-old son, Kamden, out into the sea.

He told his older son, Jayce, 12, to run back to the house and raise the alarm before he entered the water to rescue Kamden, and help his other son, his partner, Keyonna Fairley told KBTX3 News.

“From what my [younger] son said, he was in the middle of the ocean, and his dad was swimming with one arm trying to get him to safety,” Fairley said. “Then he got on his dad’s back and swam for a little bit. Then my son said that Jeff told him, ‘OK, bub, you’re going to have to get off my back. I’m going to drown.”

Meanwhile, Fairley said she “beelined back to the beach and started looking and started screaming,” she told Hawaii News Now.

Fairley said that Diaz’s last words were an act of encouragement to their youngest son.

“‘I want you to go. I want you to swim. Don’t stop. You got this. Don’t give up. I love you.’ Those were the last words he heard from his dad,” she said.

Fairley said Kamden eventually managed to swim back to shore.

“He said he looked back just to make sure his dad was behind him and he said, ‘Mom, he was so far, and he was yelling ‘help.’ He was screaming, ‘Help, help!” Fairley said.

In a statement, the Kaua’i Police Department said, “On Saturday, November 22, at approximately 3.00 p.m., first responders were dispatched to Waiapua‘a Bay, near Shenanigans Bar and Restaurant, following reports of a swimmer in distress.

“The individual had entered the water to rescue two children who were struggling in the high surf. While the children made it back to shore safely, he encountered trouble in the water.

“Personnel with the Ocean Safety Bureau and Barking Sands Fire and Emergency Services Department recovered the man from the water and began lifesaving efforts. He was transported to the Kaua‘i Veterans Memorial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.”

They added: “The Kaua‘i Police Department extends its condolences to the family and loved ones of Master-at-Arms 1st Class Jeffrey Diaz during this difficult time.”

Fairley said her family had only been on Kaua’i for three months, but the couple, who had been together for 18 years, had planned to marry, and Diaz had planned to retire with all of them staying in Hawaii after this deployment.

Diaz had enlisted in the Navy in 1997 and previously served on the guided-missile destroyer USS Ross and at the Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia, The Military Times reported about his death. He had been promoted to master-at-arms 1st class in 2022.

His awards and decorations include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, and Kosovo Campaign Medal, among others, the publication said.

In addition to his children with Fairley, Diaz also leaves behind two older children and a grandchild.

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