Rescue Swimmer Saves Blonde. Life is about choices and sometimes the choices are a no-brainer even for this Navy Rescue Swimmer (thanks in part to the advice of his fellow Aircrewman). Who knows, maybe this rescue swimmer  just met his new wife!

In the original comic I had more going on. More dialogue, logo and even God. When I was done drawing it I thought it was a bit too busy so edited it to the final version above. Below is what the original was. Is it too busy? Which one do you like more?

The Day a Navy Rescue Swimmer Met His Future Wife

It started out like any other day for Petty Officer Jake “Sharkbait” Henderson, a Navy rescue swimmer stationed somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. You know, the usual—endless drills, listening to the same briefing about “staying calm” in life-threatening situations, and waiting for some yacht captain with more money than sense to crash into a coral reef.

But then, the call came in.

“Rescue One, we’ve got a distress signal from a civilian vessel, about 15 nautical miles off the coast,” squawked the radio. “Passengers onboard, no further details.”

Jake sighed, grabbing his gear. “Probably another drunk rich guy who forgot his boat doesn’t come with auto-pilot,” he muttered to his buddy, the helicopter crew chief. Little did Jake know, this was not going to be just another routine rescue.

As the helicopter flew toward the coordinates, Jake was already mentally checking out. Another day, another save. But as they approached the scene, he caught a glimpse of the “civilian vessel” in distress—a luxurious white yacht, clearly worth more than his entire Navy career.

“Man, someone’s gonna be pissed when they see the repair bill on that thing,” Jake chuckled. But then he saw her—a blonde goddess of a woman standing on the deck, waving frantically. Her golden hair blowing in the wind, her sundress doing some kind of magic fluttering dance like she was in a shampoo commercial. This was no ordinary rescue.

The radio crackled again. “There’s a woman overboard—get down there, Sharkbait.”

“Copy that!” Jake hollered, already gearing up to jump. But he couldn’t help but think, Please let it be the blonde. Let it be the blonde. The gods of irony must’ve been listening, because as soon as Jake hit the water and looked up, he saw her—the blonde bombshell, flailing in the water about 50 yards from the boat, somehow managing to look both panicked and stunning at the same time.

“Hang tight, ma’am, I’ve got you!” Jake called out as he swam toward her. But in the back of his mind, he was thinking, This is either going to be the best day of my life or the worst mistake of hers.

He reached her in record time (probably because the universe has a sense of humor) and wrapped his arms around her in the classic rescue swimmer grip. “You’re safe now,” he said, his best hero voice on full display.

“Oh my God, thank you!” she gasped, clinging to him like he was the last drink at a party. “You saved my life!”

As the helicopter hovered above, Jake and the blonde ascended together in the rescue basket, her head resting dramatically on his shoulder. At this point, Jake could hardly focus. He had just rescued an actual goddess, and now she was giving him that “I might owe you my firstborn child” look.

Back on the deck of the helicopter, she introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Chelsea,” she said breathlessly. “My yacht hit something, I don’t know what, but thank you so much for saving me!”

“Uh… no problem,” Jake said, trying to keep his cool but very much feeling like a teenager who just won the high school lottery. “I do this kind of thing all the time. No big deal.”

Chelsea smiled at him, and Jake swore the Pacific Ocean evaporated just a little. “Well, I owe you one,” she said, winking in a way that made Jake wonder if she’d hit his heart with a torpedo.

Fast forward a few months, and you better believe Jake took her up on that “I owe you one.” They went on a date—just your average “thank you for not letting me drown” dinner. Chelsea wasn’t just gorgeous; she was smart, funny, and somehow completely unfazed by Jake’s terrible jokes about fish and seaweed. He even tried to impress her by explaining the complicated physics of water rescues, but she just giggled and asked, “So, like, do you wear those short Navy shorts all the time, or just at work?”

Jake knew right then and there—this was the one.

One date turned into two, then three, and pretty soon Jake wasn’t just diving into the ocean for work; he was diving headfirst into this relationship. He couldn’t believe his luck. What started as a routine rescue mission ended up with him saving a beautiful blonde and, eventually, marrying her.

At their wedding, Jake’s Navy buddies couldn’t resist roasting him during their speeches.

“So, let me get this straight,” said his best man, “Jake jumps out of a perfectly good helicopter, saves a blonde bombshell, and now he’s marrying her? I’ve been in the Navy for ten years, and the closest I’ve gotten to romance is the time I found half a cheeseburger in my locker.”

Even Chelsea’s maid of honor couldn’t resist. “I always knew Chelsea would end up with a hero. I just thought it’d be a Hollywood actor, not some guy who spends half his life jumping out of helicopters.”

But Jake didn’t care. He may have started out as just a rescue swimmer, but thanks to one very fortunate (and very blonde) rescue mission, he became the luckiest guy in the Navy.

And every time someone asked how he met his wife, Jake would just grin and say, “I guess you could say I’m pretty good at ‘sweeping girls off their feet.’”

The Frontlines

It’s hard to believe, but some of the comics I created during my 20-year military career have actually been published! These funny, and sometimes edgy, reflections are inspired by incredible mentors, great friends, and a deep love for sarcasm. You can check them out on Amazon: Amazon The Frontlinesand check out: The Frontlines Shop

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