Reminder brings one's past to present

  • Published
  • By Chief Petty Officer Brian Naranjo
  • Naval Air Facility Misawa
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  Jeffrey Wilson has seen firsthand the tragedy that often results when people get behind the wheel after drinking.

Mr. Wilson is the safety manager for Naval Air Facility Misawa, Japan, and planned and designed a holiday driving under the influence awareness display that went up near the main gate of Misawa Air Base, Wed. Nov. 20.

The display features a wrecked van, a plus sign, a large barrel labeled 'alcohol drink,' an 'equals' sign and a coffin, with a banner that reads 'How do you plan your holiday season?'

But, he said, being the safety manager tasked with monitoring and evaluating conditions on the facility for the hundreds of Navy personnel assigned, isn't the main driving force for the display.

He said his has been a personal commitment for the past 20 years to remind people of the consequences of driving after consuming alcohol.

The former U.S. Marine knows all too well about the personal hell that ensues for friends and family left behind after such a tragic incident.

He recalled being a Marine in 1988, assigned to a battalion landing team in Hawaii, and one night that wiped out three good friends, and left a fourth emotionally scarred for life.

"Several Marine friends and I were working in special operations training for six months. We went on liberty right after we got back. That first night, a car filled with four of my buddies was struck head-on by a drunk driver."

The long period of non-stop training he and his fellow Marines had endured helped them form a special camaraderie that made them more like siblings than teammates, he said. And, he added, in that six months of arduous training, they hadn't lost a man.

But losing three of their number so quickly, not only set the training cycle back to zero, but left a hole in his squad that would never be filled.

"Sure, we got replacements for those Marines, but it just wasn't the same after that," he said.

Mr. Wilson and his surviving squad members were filled with a range of emotions, from intense sadness to blind rage. The only thing left to do was move on to the next training cycle, Mr. Wilson said, but he still feels their loss today.

"It was kind of a way of dealing with it," he said. "But there's not a day that goes by that I don't think of those guys."

As the facility safety manager, Mr. Wilson has seen the stats. And he said he knows that no matter what commands do, there's always the chance that someone is going to make a bad decision, and risk lives by driving after drinking alcohol.

"The guy that hit my buddies head-on died in the accident as well," he said. "But I bet when he got behind the wheel that night after leaving a bar, he had no idea how many hundreds of people would be affected by his one stupid decision."

Mr. Wilson said those who choose to take this risk, are being very selfish, especially considering all the alternatives that are available.

"The base here has multiple programs in place, to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to get home safe. There's no excuse not to use them," he said.

He hopes the display near the main gate will give people pause as they leave to go off-base, and as they return.

"If only one life is saved by this display," he said, "then the time we spent putting this together has greatly paid itself off."