A Thousand People, One Mission: Remembering AST2 Tyler Jaggers

I arrived early at Air Station Astoria, Oregon, on March 20. I had never made the drive from Portland and did not want to be late. The large aircraft hangar and cavernous tent attached to its open front were filled with chairs and a few Coast Guard members were making final preparations for the memorial service. I took a few pictures: the stage framed by an enormous American flag, a memorial box filled with medals and military insignia, and a display of a flight helmet, survival vest, and swim fins signifying a Coast Guard member who had died during a mission. 

I sat and watched as the crowd filled in over the next hour. Coast Guard members and veterans arrived from across the country: young and old, but mostly young. Fit, sharp, intense, but so very young. They greeted each other with hugs and handshakes. They spoke in hushed tones. They sat with hands in their laps. They are people who accept danger quietly, not because they relish it, but because the job requires it. Tyler understood that, and he chose it anyway. Every day.

Tyler joined the Coast Guard in 2022. He died on March 5, 2026, from injuries sustained eight days earlier during a mission to rescue a mariner from a commercial vessel 120 nautical miles off of Cape Flattery, Washington.

Sitting there, surrounded by 1,000 Coast Guard members and others from the local community, I learned who Tyler was. He was, simply, extraordinary. He was a rescue swimmer who joined the service at 28 and held a degree in environmental science from the University of Hawaii. He had paddled the demanding Molokai Channel 13 times, and he once signed up for a 50-mile trail race two days before it started, without looking at the course map, and ran it without headphones. When his fiancée, Cassandra Weaver, asked how he stayed motivated alone on a trail for hours with no music, he told her: "Oh, I just count how many banana slugs I see, and sometimes I look up at the trees." That answer says everything about who Tyler Jaggers was.

The speakers at the service painted a complete picture of the man. Chief Ben Brown, a fellow rescue swimmer who worked alongside Tyler, lauded his commitment, "No matter the standard, he exceeded it... Ty, you didn't just wear our wings. You defined what they stand for." Air Station Astoria Commanding Officer Captain Neal Corbin described how more than 100 shipmates traveled to the hospital to line the halls in silence as Tyler passed during the honor walk. "It was a quiet moment," he said, "but it spoke volumes." And Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Kevin Lunday, who met Tyler only after he was injured, echoed the rescue swimmers' motto: "We will always remember Tyler, so that others may live."

With Tyler’s father Terry Jaggers standing beside her, Cassandra courageously spoke of Tyler the man when he was off duty. The man who made her breakfast in bed, who called his family constantly, and who took joy in doing special things for those he loved. The man who dreamed of being a father. 

The Coast Guard Foundation was honored to support Air Station Astoria, Tyler's family, and the nearly 100 people who traveled from Coast Guard bases across the country to be present for him. In addition to the honor walk, travel funding and the memorial service, the Foundation supported the "Tyler's Last Flight" gathering in Washington, D.C., following his flight home on March 25. None of this would have been possible without the donors who believe Coast Guard members and families should never stand alone.

Every person I spoke with in Astoria said thank you. Not for the logistics of the Foundation’s support, but for the message it sent. That someone was paying attention. That Tyler, his family, and his crew were not alone in their grief.

Captain Corbin closed his remarks with words that chill me, while also filling me with thankfulness and pride to work with the Coast Guard members: "Somewhere out there tonight, when a Coast Guard aircraft lifts into the dark, when a rescue swimmer steps out the door, and when someone in distress is waiting for help to arrive — the spirit of Tyler Jaggers will still be there. Quietly. Steadily, answering the call."

That is what I carried home from Astoria.

The Coast Guard Foundation's tragedy assistance program supported 21 Coast Guard families in 2025 and XX so far this year. To support this work, visit our donation page.

Title Image: Friends and family of Petty Officer 2nd Class Tyler Jaggers, an aviation survival technician, honor his memory during a service at Coast Guard Air Station Astoria, Friday, March 20, 2026. (U.S Coast Guard Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class William Kirk)

Disclosure: AI was used in the creation of this content.