Lt. Cmdr. Molly Waters addresses the crowd during the Coast Guard Cutter Neah Bay change of command ceremony held at the cutter's home port of Cleveland, July 25, 2014. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Lauren Laughlin)
Hundreds lined the halls of George Washington University Hospital on Friday to pay tribute to Coast Guard Commander Molly Waters, who passed away from injuries suffered in a May 13 collision with her motorcycle.
Waters, a Wyoming native living in Alexandria, Va., previously served as commanding officer of the cutters Neah Bay and Hollyhock and was executive officer of the cutter Fir.
She was struck on her way to U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington and taken to GWU in critical condition. With family by her side, including her mother and stepfather, Marian and Robert West, and father James Killen, Waters was taken off life support four days later.
USCG Cutter Alder put out a call on Facebook for “as many shipmates as possible join forces to honor a fellow Coastie and show support to the family” as, per wishes in her will, Waters was taken to undergo an organ donation procedure.
The Honor Walk included Coasties, doctors and nurses; “Taps” sounded and Coast Guard Chaplain Lt. Jonathan Alexander led prayers.
“To see all of these people, it’s like good Lord, our little kid. How far she went in life in her short 38 years,” said Marian West, according to WJLA.
“In the passing, she wanted to donate all of her organs and tissues and anything she could,” the commander’s mother added. “It’s typical Molly fashion.”
Killen said that Waters, who loved the sea as a child, “went with the Coast Guard because they were the only ones that told her she could be a pirate.”
Adm. Anthony Vogt presented Marian West with the Meritorious Service Medal at her daughter’s bedside.
US Coast Guard Chaplain Lt Jonathan Alexander leads a procession of family and hospital staff as they wheel Cmdr Molly Waterss body through the halls of George Washington University Hospital in Washington DC May 17 2019 US Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Diana Sherbs
Bridget Johnson
Bridget Johnson is the Managing Editor for Homeland Security Today. A veteran journalist whose news articles and analyses have run in dozens of news outlets across the globe, Bridget first came to Washington to be online editor and a foreign policy writer at The Hill. Previously she was an editorial board member at the Rocky Mountain News and syndicated nation/world news columnist at the Los Angeles Daily News.
Bridget is a terrorism analyst and security consultant with a specialty in online open-source extremist propaganda, incitement, recruitment, and training. She hosts and presents in Homeland Security Today law enforcement training webinars studying a range of counterterrorism topics including conspiracy theory extremism, complex coordinated attacks, critical infrastructure attacks, arson terrorism, drone and venue threats, antisemitism and white supremacists, anti-government extremism, and WMD threats. She is a Senior Risk Analyst for Gate 15 and a private investigator. Bridget is an NPR on-air contributor and has contributed to USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, New York Observer, National Review Online, Politico, New York Daily News, The Jerusalem Post, The Hill, Washington Times, RealClearWorld and more, and has myriad television and radio credits including Al-Jazeera, BBC and SiriusXM.
Bridget Johnson is the Managing Editor for Homeland Security Today. A veteran journalist whose news articles and analyses have run in dozens of news outlets across the globe, Bridget first came to Washington to be online editor and a foreign policy writer at The Hill. Previously she was an editorial board member at the Rocky Mountain News and syndicated nation/world news columnist at the Los Angeles Daily News.
Bridget is a terrorism analyst and security consultant with a specialty in online open-source extremist propaganda, incitement, recruitment, and training. She hosts and presents in Homeland Security Today law enforcement training webinars studying a range of counterterrorism topics including conspiracy theory extremism, complex coordinated attacks, critical infrastructure attacks, arson terrorism, drone and venue threats, antisemitism and white supremacists, anti-government extremism, and WMD threats. She is a Senior Risk Analyst for Gate 15 and a private investigator. Bridget is an NPR on-air contributor and has contributed to USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, New York Observer, National Review Online, Politico, New York Daily News, The Jerusalem Post, The Hill, Washington Times, RealClearWorld and more, and has myriad television and radio credits including Al-Jazeera, BBC and SiriusXM.
