Intro
When Covid hit, I started doing a lot of scuba diving locally and met up with Tyler Stalter. We both shared a passion for wreck diving and finding new wrecks. For the past 4 years, we have had a great partnership and have scoured the Southern California coast and found many new wrecks (and a few rocks and dirt piles along the way). We aren’t funded by any government agency and we don’t have a big budget or the really cool, high-tech equipment like ROVs and AUVs. But we have grit and persistence.
The wrecks we find are often Navy aircraft lost off San Diego and Pt Mugu Naval Air Stations. When we find these, we always report them to the Navy History and Heritage Command (NHHC) and leave everything at the site and take only pictures. Some of these wrecks are graves and we treat them with respect. We provide the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the NHHC with all the pictures, identification information, and photogrammetry models.
The Copper Award
In October, we both received an unexpected email from our primary contact at the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the NHHC to inform us that we were both awarded a piece of copper from the USS Constitution for our work and success to carefully locate and document U.S. Navy wreck sites.
The USS Constitution is the world’s oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat. She was launched in 1797 and was named by President George Washington. The USS Constitution has an amazing history, captured numerous merchant ships and defeated five British warships and earned the nickname “Old Ironsides.” She is a now a floating museum at the Charleston Navy Yard in Boston.
The USS Constitution’s copper represents technological innovation, self-reliance, and victory.
Below are copies of the citation along with some photos of the Copper Award that we received. Next time we are together, we will take a joint photo and post it here.
Tyler and I are actively working with the NHHC to locate more aircraft in the local area and have a few specific projects that will hopefully provide some closure to the families of lost Navy airmen.
We document all of our new wreck discoveries at: https://wreckedinmyrevo.com/category/new-discovery/
We are both very honored to receive the awards!
Good on you Brett. Keep up the Beginner’s Mind.
Thanks, Dick!
Congratulations on your well deserved Copper Awards. Your commitment and dedication to your project will not only help to locate and preserve history in the form of photos but , in some cases, bring closure to the families of lost service members. Thank you.
Congratulations Tyler and Brett, nice acknowledgement for the great research and photo work you both have done.
Thanks, Chris!