USS Independence

Navy sailors train over and over so they are prepared to do their jobs under any circumstances. Be it peacetime or war, they must be ready to accomplish their missions even at the risk of their own lives. Aviation Anti-Submarine Warfare Operator 1st Class Thomas W. Hayes, U.S. Navy Reserve (Retired), trained as a search and rescue swimmer and deployed aboard aircraft carriers in case he was needed to save downed aircrew from the ocean’s icy waters. Because of his efforts, three aviators lived to fly again another day. This is his story.