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 KEY
WEST, Fla. - Most families have traits that are passed down
through the generations. Often when people look at photos of
their grandparents they can see where certain features came
from. For better or worse it's usually Grandma or Grandpa
who deserves thanks for some defining hallmark of
appearance.
When U.S. Navy Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL)
Jeremy Trump looks at photos of his late grandfather, U.S. Coast
Guard (USCG) Chief Motor Machinist's Mate William Trump, however,
it's not just a handsome jaw line that is reflected back. What he
sees goes much deeper. Images of William Trump hold a legacy of
service, sacrifice and honor. What others might see as heroism, the
Trumps see as a family tradition that is anchored in service.
The legacy of service that has been passed down to Jeremy Trump
is the same legacy that has led the USCG to christen its newest
sentinel-class fast response cutter USCGC William Trump (WPC 1111),
which was brought to life in a commissioning ceremony Jan. 24, 2015,
at U.S. Coast Guard Sector Key West, Fla.
“This a great honor
for my family, we are humbled by it,” said Jeremy Trump. “To have a
ship named after somebody who you knew and grew up with is just a
really, really, big thing and his presence still looms large here,
no doubt.”
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Collette Eddy, daughter of William Trump, presents Lt. Jared Harlow a plaque during the commissioning ceremony for the Coast Guard Cutter William Trump at Coast Guard Sector Key West, Fla., Jan. 24, 2015. Coast Guard hero, Petty Officer 1st Class William Trump, was awarded the Silver Star for valor in action during the assault phase of the landing at Normandy during World War II, more than 70 years ago. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jon-Paul Rios)
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William Trump served aboard a landing craft infantry vessel
(LCI(L) 90) during World War II and participated in four amphibious
assaults as a first class petty officer. He fought in the occupation
of Tunisia June 1, 1943, the invasion of Sicily July 9, 1943, and
the landings at Salerno, Italy, Sept. 9, 1943. His military service
is best remembered for his heroism during the invasion of Normandy
June 6, 1944.
William Trump's vessel was part of Flotilla 10,
which carried about 200 troops into the Normandy invasion. The
crew's mission was to get the soldiers safely onto the beaches of
France. William Trump volunteered to disembark his landing craft and
head onto the beach to anchor a safety line for troops to follow.
During the D-Day landing the USCG lost four ships, more than
any other time in a single day in the history of the
service. Under severe enemy fire, William Trump waded onto
the heavily mined beach, dragged an anchor and anchor line
to shallow water and successfully secured the safety line.
Because William Trump put himself in the line of fire to
help others, he was awarded a Silver Star for his valor in
action in the assault phase of the landing at Normandy.
William Trump joined the Coast Guard in 1942 at age 17
and retired as a chief petty officer in 1965. He passed away
in 2009.
Jeremy Trump has followed in the steps of
his grandfather's military service, joining the U.S. Navy in
1992. He has served in numerous overseas deployments
including four in support of counternarcotic operations, and
six combat missions, as well as various short-term
deployments to support the global war on terror.
“Being in a community where Silver Stars are hard to come
by, and I've seen what it takes to get one, to get one on
that day of days out there like that I just don't think you
could compare that to anything here today,” said Jeremy
Trump. “So it's a huge deal and he is one of the very few
guys in the Coast Guard that has ever been decorated that
highly for valor.”
The obvious conclusion to draw is
that Jeremy Trump joined the Navy because he wanted to be a
hero like his grandfather, but that wasn't the case.
Despite being an American hero, the grandchildren of William
Trump had no idea about their grandfather's World War II
service, according to William Trump, a grandson and namesake
of William Trump. They didn't know, because they never
remembered him talking about it. What the grandkids remember
was his service after the military career was over. For the
remainder of his life, William Trump was an active volunteer
in the community. Some of the most impactful memories for
the grandkids came during the countless hours spent with
their grandfather delivering food to those in need.
The first member of the family to join the military and the
oldest of eight brothers and 24 total grandchildren, Jeremy
Trump said it wasn't until after he decided to join the
military when he started talking to his grandfather about
his military service. As he talked to his grandfather about
military service his bond with his grandfather became that
much tighter and when he graduated Basic Underwater
Demolition School (BUDS) and SEAL qualification training he
had his grandfather pin on his trident.
“From a
military perspective I'm amazed that there could be a
correlation drawn between Jeremy's service and my
grandfather's,” said William Trump. “I think a lot of it was
just those character attributes were innate in my
grandfather and it was more of an osmosis type thing. When
Jeremy went off to BUDS and someone asked me if I thought he
could make it, I said ‘yes, unless they kill him because he
won't quit, I know him.' And that was one of the things that
came from our granddad, the tenacity. He just wouldn't quit
for anything.”
“Jeremy respected my dad hugely,” said
Colette Eddy, the ship's sponsor and William Trump's
daughter. “Those two became bonded with the military.
Because Jeremy was the first military grandson to follow in
my dad's footsteps and choose a profession that was tough
and not easy to get into they formed a unique and special
bond.”
The reflections of honor and service that
Jeremy Trump sees when looking at a photo of his grandfather
will now be seen in the gleaming white hull of the USCG
William Trump by all the Coast Guardsmen who will serve
aboard her. The ship will give new generations of service
members a platform to serve from and weigh their own anchors
in lives of service.
By Naval Special Warfare Group Two
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
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