The Circle of Heroes is a massive, multi-piece underwater memorial located off the coast of Clearwater, Florida. The Circle is a project of Brighter Futures Florida, a non-profit group. It contains 12 separate statues placed in a 100 foot diameter circle with a monument to the separate services in the center. Ultimately, they will place 12 more statues over the next two years to complete the memorial. On 5 August, the dedication and first dive was held on location with a flotilla of boats, speakers, a ribbon cutting and a flyover by the Coast Guard.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars learned of this project and knew we had to be part of it. We were able to sponsor a statue and the one assigned to us was "No Man Left Behind." As your Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief I was invited to participate in the dedication. When Brighter Futures learned I was also a PADI SCUBA instructor they made sure I was among the first to dive the site!
Located about 10 miles offshore in 40 feet of water on a sandy bottom, the twelve statues stare at you from their concrete pedestals and seem to draw you into their faces and their details. The more you look, the more you feel how powerful this memorial is. The wetness I thought was a leak in my mask turned out to be tears. You can't help but be moved by what you see.
It was more than fitting that the dive boat I was on carried a crew of veterans from Vietnam, Desert Storm and Afghanistan. We shared that site and parts of ourselves during that dive. Here's a short film from pictures and videos I took on that dive. I hope you enjoy it.
