Yesterday, we posted to X that two Navy sailors at GITMO died after falling off a dock during Hurricane Melissa. We are pleased to report that the post was premature, and both were rescued.
As killer storm Hurricane Melissa’s outer bands lashed Cuba g, two Navy sailors at Guantanamo Bay fought for their lives after a routine dock check became a fight for survival. Two seamen, John Harper and Michael Kilbane, were securing equipment at Pier 2 when a brutal wind gust sent them flying off the pier into turbulent water. Waves crashed like thunder, and howling winds carried debris into the air.
“It happened in a second,” recounted Petty Officer First Class Sarah Kline, who had watched the scene unfold from a reinforced bunker near the dock. “A massive gust hit them like a freight train. They were tying down a lines when the wind lifted Michael off his feet. Harper grabbed for him, but they both went over the edge.”
The pair reportedly clung to a buoy as Melissa’s buffeting winds and swelling waves pushed them further out to sea.
Despite the inclement weather, GITMO’s Search and Rescue unit launched a daring operation amid the storm’s eye wall. A Blackhawk helicopter braved the winds to hoist the men aboard before they drowned. Both suffered minor injuries—bruises and lacerations but were otherwise miraculously unharmed.