Jake Hipps, Marine Corps Private, served during the evacuation of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam Conflict. He sustained an gunshot wound after returning home. Now a paraplegic, he works at the Buffalo, NY area VA helping other vets. Active in many sports he could one day be on a Wheaties Box.
Private 1st Class Alex Nicoll Alex Nicoll was a PFC in the USMC and described his job as “kicking in doors”. While deployed to Fallujah, he lost part of his leg in an injury. He did so well in scuba and liked the island so much, don’t be surprised if he shows up next year…
Eric Lantz Eric Lantz, a graduate of Texas A&M University, works as a physical therapist at Memorial Hermann TIRR in Houston, TX. A paraplegic for over 10 years, Eric takes on as many challenges as he can and he loves scuba. He joined us for the trip to Cayman Brac in 2008.
Veronica Padilla lost both legs above the knee in a roadside accident near her home in Albuquerque, NM. A nuclear engineering student, she has a terrific outlook on life. She joined our 2008 trip to Cayman Brac.
Kelly Knight is a paraplegic that lives in Corpus Christi, TX and is an interior designer. Kelly loves diving now and is a complete addict since she joined our trip to Cayman Brac in 2008.
Airman Timothy Jones was wounded while serving as a mechanic in the Top Gun program in the Navy. This resulted in a spinal chord injury. He plays quad rugby while also attending college and raising three active children with his wife, Melissa. Tim joined us on part of the Cayman Brac trip in 2008.
Captain Dawn Halfaker was wounded by a RPG attack while serving as a Lt in Iraq with the Military Police. She was promoted to Captain prior to her discharge. Now, the owner of a Security consulting firm and graduate student at George Washington University, she joined the Dive Pirates to the Brac in 2008. Dawn…
Sergeant Nathan Gonzalez, a retired marine, had a duty to protect US Embassies abroad. Nate loved diving then and after an automobile accident he thought he would never dive again. He is now a happy dive pirate living in Boerne, TX and went to Cayman Brac in 2008.
Gregory Ebanks is our first student from our scuba destination, Cayman Brac. Gregory was one of the original dive masters on the Brac and lost a leg in a car accident. He thought his diving days were over but Dive Pirates came to the rescue in 2008. Gregory divides his time between Houston, TX and…
Seaman Leland Walker sustained an injury in 1997 in basic training. Leland was certified on the Brac trip in 2007. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his sister, Muzette, who was also one of his dive buddies along with Ollie Waters and Stacey Minton. Leland never quits smiling while he dives.