I am a retired U.S. Coast Guard Commander with 25 years of U.S. military service, having flown helicopters for both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Coast Guard. The stories in my book series, “The Coast Guard Adventures of Dolph and Gwen”, are based on actual search and rescue missions flown by me in a HH-65 Dolphin helicopter.

 

Since 2013, I have volunteered 1000s of hours in public elementary schools in my local community. Among my favorite activities at school is reading exciting stories to kids and helping students to learn to read on their own.

 

My granddaughter (the real life Gwen) whose love of books, and things that fly, has been a huge inspiration to write.

 

My love of storytelling, and my sometimes exciting flight experiences, have been a major source of inspiration for talking to kids about courage in the face of adversity, team work and trust
 

I have been married (40+ years), I'm father of two and grandpa of one (so far). 

​

 

Why A Memoir?

​

In 2019 a local high school invited me to be their guest speaker for a Veterans Day school assembly. I happily accepted the invitation. The school’s Veterans Day theme that year was “A Legacy of Service.” I shared a story from my family’s history of military service. My great (x5) grandfather, Luke Guyant, had immigrated to the Colonies from England in the 1760s. He then fought in the Revolutionary War against the British Empire. The only information I have about Luke Guyant is from a written application for veterans benefits dated 1834 in which he provides an account of his service with the Continental Army from 1775-1781, where he served as a Dragoon (mounted Infantry). 

​

I've often wished Luke, and other ancestors, had left more information about their lives, such as a journal, or letters written to/from loved ones, a memoir, or an autobiography. It probably never occurred to Luke that 250 years in the future there would be people interested in knowing more about him and hearing stories from his life.

​

Since retiring from the U.S. Coast Guard in 2005, I’ve often thought about writing down some of my experiences and life lessons learned along the way. However, when I thought about the time and effort required to write (ugh!) and how few people would be interested, I would dismiss it as a foolish idea. After all, in the grand scheme of world events and history, I’m insignificant to all but a few family members and friends. It seemed a bit arrogant to think anyone, except for a handful of people, would care at all about my unique experiences, significant events, weighty choices, and life lessons learned. 

​

But then, in 2020, a little girl, my granddaughter, entered this world. I began to think maybe someday she might want to know more about her grandpa. And what about her children and her grandchildren? Maybe someday they might want to know more about their ancestors, just like I’ve wondered about mine from 250 years ago.

​

Ultimately, however, and much more significant is the fact that my story isn’t just about me. The Lord Jesus Christ has guided my life often in ways unseen and unknown to me at the time. God has allowed hardships, pain, and heartaches, but always as opportunities to learn, trust, and grow to become more like Christ.

 

 

Why a Children's book?

​

In 2013 I started volunteering at public elementary schools, working mostly with 1st Grade students and their teachers. One of my favorite activities is reading to kids and helping instill a love of books and a desire to read on their own.

 

After reading my memoir, several of the 1st Grade teachers I assist encouraged me to write a Children's book. "The Force" of inertia is strong in me (Inertia: a tendency to remain at rest until acted upon by some external force.), however, with some prompting from my 1st Grade team, I got rolling.

 

I decided to take one of the true stories from my memoir and use it to tell kids, and their parents, about one of the U.S. Coast Guard's primary missions... Search and Rescue, with which I happen to have considerable experience.

​

I created Dolph and Gwen to help tell the story and teach kids about courage, trust, team work, dedication, and other important virtues. 

​

Lord willing, I hope to continue more stories and sharing more exciting missions performed by Dolph, Gwen and crew.