Eric and I recently had the opportunity to visit the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum when I was in Florida for SOFIC a few months back. It was an awesome experience and one I’ll never forget.
It was my first visit to the museum and it was great seeing the completed memorial to all the fallen UDTs (Underwater Demolition Teams,) NCDUs (Naval Combat Demolition Unit,) Office of Strategic Services Maritime Units, Amphibious Scouts & Raiders and SEALs.
The memorial encompasses all those lost in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, Desert Storm and the current War on Terror. It was also an honor to have one of the museum staff guys volunteer to help me out in creating a rubbing of the guys I knew while I was at BUD/s. I got a bit choked up remembering their heroism and camaraderie.
When ITS was still in its infancy, we donated to help fund the memorial by purchasing a memorial brick that you’ll see pictured below. It’s inscribed with “ITS Tactical, In Memory of Our Fallen.” I also got in a few pull-ups for Marc Lee, Alex Ghane, Ryan Job and Jason Workman while I was there. They had a pull-up bar out back and it was hard not to knock out a few.
Check out the photo collection below from our tour of the museum grounds and interior. The last photo in the set shows our Geocache “In Memory of Our Fallen” that Eric set up at Ft. Pierce where we launched our ITS Travel Bugs from. We made sure to restock it while we were there.
I’d highly recommend a visit to the museum if you’re ever in Fort Pierce; it’s not everyday you get to see the birthplace of Navy Frogmen.
National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum
