HONOLULU (KHON) – A Navy sailor and father of five made the ultimate sacrifice on Saturday, saving his 9-year-old son from drowning in Hawaii before succumbing to the waves himself.
What started as a family day at the beach turned into every parent’s nightmare at Barking Sands on Kauai.
Maui leads state in ocean drownings, still no lifeguards at busy tourist beaches
High surf pulled 9-year-old Kamden Diaz into dangerous waters, and his father, 47-year-old Master-at-Arms 1st Class Jeffrey Diaz, jumped into action by swimming out and putting Kamden on his back.
“At one point, Jeff just took Kamden off his back and said, ‘Okay, Kam, I’m going to get you, I have to get you off my back because I’m going to drown.’ And he said, ‘You got this, I love you, don’t give up.’ That was his last words to our baby,” Keyonna Fairley, Diaz’s life partner of 18 years, said…