Navy gives teen rescuer a trip of a lifetime

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

A 16-year-old Good Samaritan got an extraordinary reward yesterday when the USS Boxer left Pearl Harbor en route to San Diego.

Adam Smith, a Maryland resident who has dreams of joining the Navy, was aboard.

Smith, a Baltimore lifeguard, was one of several people who joined forces Monday in the rescue of Pat Savage, an O'ahu teen who almost drowned while free-diving at Waimea Bay.

Marine Cpl. Quentin Gwynn, who also participated in the rescue, invited Smith aboard his ship, the USS Bonhomme Richard, on Wednesday. During the visit, Smith told Gwynn that he hoped to someday become a Navy helicopter pilot.

Word of the teen's career ambition quickly traveled the military's version of Hawai'i's coconut wireless.

Recognizing a deserving candidate and a worthy recruiting prospect, Capt. Kenny Golden, commodore of Amphibious Squadron One and a Navy pilot, offered to take Smith along as the USS Boxer returned to San Diego yesterday.

Smith quickly obtained parental approval and accepted the offer, said Lt. Cmdr. Jane Campbell, a Navy spokeswoman.

The Boxer was one of five ships returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom that had stopped at Pearl Harbor for a four-day port visit en route to San Diego.

It was the last of the five to leave, Campbell said. The ship departed at noon yesterday, just behind the Bonhomme Richard.

Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com