Etched in Time: The Navy SEAL Monument of Virginia Beach, VA.
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Have you ever experienced a moment in your life when your heart skips a beat?
For most, the answer is unequivocally yes. It’s the feeling you get when you first see your future wife or husband standing at the other end of the aisle on your wedding day. It’s the surge of adrenaline you have after making the game winning play in the championship match. It’s the moment of surprise when your child unexpectedly says their first word.
On a trip to Virginia Beach, Virginia in the fall of 2017, my heart skipped a beat exactly as described above; it’s something that I will truly remember for the rest of my life.
Virginia Beach is one of America’s best kept secrets. Located on the east coast of the USA, it’s home to miles of pillowy-soft beaches, an outstanding board walk lined with monuments and sculptures, shops for food, drinks, beach equipment, and warm crashing waves that are perfect for body surfing close to the shoreline. The salty brine from the ocean invigorates your senses so much that you can almost taste it.
King Neptune Statue - The gatekeeper of the Virginia Beach Boardwalk and one of the most popular tourist attractions in the area.
Having said this, none of these things are what brought us here in the first place.
In the early 2000’s, our work sent us to the Hampton Roads area because of the numerous military bases surrounding this little beach town. Multiple times a day you can hear the distinct roar of a fighter jet moving swiftly toward the Atlantic Ocean — we’ve nicknamed this the “Sound of Freedom” — the constant patriotic blast of jet wash that really let’s you know you are in a special place.
Our trips to VB usually involve personally sizing dogs and talking to our customers about mission specific requirements in the morning, and fun in the sun or dinner with old friends in the afternoon. Many of you may be familiar with Spike’s K9 Fund and the outstanding work they do to help protect underfunded working dogs with K9 Storm Patrol Swat Vests. As it turns out, they are located in Norfolk, VA. just a quick drive away from the beach. Whenever we are in town, we always try to get together to share a few drinks and laughs with their team.
This time around, the Spike’s crew suggested we try a restaurant called Pacifica and as always, we had a blast.
As the night began to wind down, we were contemplating if we should take a cab back to our hotel or simply walk down the boardwalk to get home. It was an uncharacteristically rainy and cold evening for September. There was no sign of life anywhere.
To be honest, I don’t know why we didn’t take a cab. Maybe it was because we thought we could handle the cold as Canadians, or maybe it was the fact that we polished off a few bottles of red wine; regardless, we were feeling up to the challenge to make the walk from 40th to 30th street in the pouring rain. Knowing the boardwalk like the back of our hands, we knew exactly where we were going and that it wouldn’t take more than 15 minutes.
We started on our way, when suddenly we saw something at 38th St.
A cloaked figure, standing completely motionless, only a few yards down. We approached the figure cautiously and quickly realized what it was.
The Cloaked Figure
Remember the statues and monuments I mentioned earlier? Unbeknownst to us at the time, what we were staring at was the boardwalk’s newest, albeit unfinished, edition:
The Navy SEAL Monument.
I’d never seen a monument like this in my life. Smooth black granite walls surrounded its entirety. Upon closer inspection we noticed that the granite was actually laser-etched with photographs of the teams and their history.
We started to read: the medal of honor…the living beach…the fallen teammates…engraved on the wall beside were gold stars and gold paw prints.
Wait, what? Paw prints?
As my eyes continued to scan through the darkness, I looked down and then, it happened — My heart officially flat-lined.
Reflecting back into my dumbfounded face was a classic photo of a dog storming through water working in their K9 Storm Aerial Insertion Vest and Intruder Camera System. I couldn’t believe it then, and I still find it hard to believe now. The monument laser-etched a K9 Storm original photo taken back in 2010, directly into those black granite walls, to be proudly preserved until the end of time.
We were stunned.
The inscription around the photo etching read:
“Gold Stars commemorate all SEALs and SEAL forerunners who gave their lives in the service of their country. Each Star bears silent testimony to the sacrifice of one of these men and his family. Gold Paw Prints represent all the faithful and true war dogs who were killed in action protecting their teammates. Without their courage, there would be many more Gold Stars for SEALs on these walls.”
Original K9 Storm Intruder Photo - Etched into the Navy SEAL Monument
There were no cameras, no bonuses, and no celebratory Champagne; yet, in the middle of a rain storm, we stood there silently and took in this once-in-a-lifetime humbling experience as if we had just won a bittersweet Superbowl. On one hand, we couldn’t believe the photo was ours. On the other, there are a lot of Gold Stars and Paws up there, all representing real people, real dogs, and real heroes who sacrificed themselves to save the lives of others.
It’s the sad reality of our line of work isn’t it? We make gear for handlers and dogs who are put in extremely dangerous situations. It’s our job to make sure they can do their job and come home safely and we take that responsibility seriously.
When we travel to Virginia Beach, we now always make time for a stroll down the boardwalk to the monument to quietly pay our respects. Where the hooded figure once was, now stands a completed statue titled “The Naked Warrior”. Tourists who stop by will always exclaim “look at the dog!” when they notice the photo too.
Just like when we first discovered it, we let them get lost in the mysteriousness of the story while we blend silently into the background of their own personal adventure.
The Naked Warrior