• Submitted by: manso
• Society
• 07 / 06 / 2011

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Jul 5, 2011. Since joining the U.S. Coast Guard in 2009, Zane Trace grad Nathan Singer has traveled to Africa, Cuba and Haiti.

His greatest achievement came just a few short months after joining the Coast Guard. Singer, who was stationed in Key West, Fla., was deployed aboard the Coast Guard cutter Mohawk and were three weeks away from wrapping up patrol and turning home.

They then got news of a massive earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010, in Haiti.

"They sent us right to Port-au-Prince, and our first task was to go ashore with medical personnel and help any way we could," he said.

The Mohawk was the first cutter to arrive in Haiti. Although Singer earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the Ohio State University, he worked as a nurse's assistant for five years and volunteered to help triage patients.

"I wasn't a part of the medical team, but because I worked in a hospital, I asked if they would let me go and they did," he said.

Singer helped administer antibiotics, treat minor wounds and abrasions and help prepare more serious patients for transport to larger medical clinics, some set up offshore in Red Cross boats. In all, he assisted 50 patients and his team helped 300 people, including preparing 82 patients for an air evacuation.

"It was a mess when we got there. There were hardly any forces yet on the ground, so we did the best we could," he said. "I was definitely honored and glad to take part in it."

In October, he represented the U.S. Coast Guard Lantarea Cutter Fleet to receive the Coast Guard Foundation Award of the Year at the 30th Annual Salute to the U.S. Coast Guard dinner in New York City. Singer said he joined the Coast Guard because he wanted to get out and see the world.

"I knew I wanted to join some branch of the military, and this was how I wanted to serve my country," he said.

In 2006, Singer married his high school sweetheart, Kimberly. Singer, Kimberly and their sons, Austin, 4, and Andrew, 2, have just moved to his new station in Cape Cod, Mass. He said the separation can be difficult for the family while he's at sea, but his wife has been an important and strong foundation for them all.

"She does everything -- takes care of the kids, the house, the cars our finances, without her we'd be lost," he said. "She's a wonderful wife."

Source: www.chillicothegazette.com/article/20110705/NEWS01/107050317