ForeverMissed
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This memorial website was created in memory of our loved one, Stephen Wall, 26 years old, born on March 14, 1987, and passed away on September 10, 2013. We will remember him forever.
September 10, 2015
September 10, 2015
I still think about you every time the song Sail is played. Miss you brother.
September 10, 2015
September 10, 2015
I think of you many times a day. What a ray of sunshine you are to so many. Mommy still misses you terribly. Please look out for me while I have my surgery on Monday, I know you already are working on it! Keep sending Mom signs, it helps her so much.
March 14, 2014
March 14, 2014
Stephen was such a good friend to me. The way he led his life is a prime example and reason for the way I live mine. I miss him so damn much. Happy Birthday brother, you are duly missed.
January 7, 2014
January 7, 2014
I will never forget how Swall made it to every intramural volleyball game for all of us girl friends. He was always there to cheer us on and holler from the side lines.

I wish I could have seen Swall as a coach. He would have inspired so many, and role modeled the kind of attitude and ethics that young men should learn. But God had a different plan for him.

As he watches over us all now he can be proud of the legacy that he has left behind. I've never heard anyone utter a negative word about Swall. He has left a legacy of inspiration, encouragement, and loyalty.
Cheers to you, Swall.
December 29, 2013
December 29, 2013
For all of those whose lives Stephen touched, may you always remember how blessed you were to have known him.

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Recent Tributes
September 10, 2015
September 10, 2015
I still think about you every time the song Sail is played. Miss you brother.
September 10, 2015
September 10, 2015
I think of you many times a day. What a ray of sunshine you are to so many. Mommy still misses you terribly. Please look out for me while I have my surgery on Monday, I know you already are working on it! Keep sending Mom signs, it helps her so much.
March 14, 2014
March 14, 2014
Stephen was such a good friend to me. The way he led his life is a prime example and reason for the way I live mine. I miss him so damn much. Happy Birthday brother, you are duly missed.
Recent stories

Trust the wall

May 14, 2014

"No day shall erase you from the memory of time" -Virgil
"The greatest casualty is being forgotten"
 
I share my story that I posted on my facebook. I included all the post's that pertain to my story. I still tear at the fact that i almost shared his fate and it frustrates me on how good people can be taken at a whim from your life. Below is my story on how I almost lost my life to the sea and how Stephen Wall came to my rescue.

  May 10, 2014 @ 3pm in the norfolk marina, my life was almost taken. A sudden fast storm with gust winds and hail hit the Norfolk marina. I've been practicing swimming and being licensed to sail. I was trapped in the storm today and my boat capsized. I've been trained to handle capsizing but I fell in between my Vang and main sail lanyards. As I feared the worse of being tangled and having the boat turtle, Stephen Wall, I heard you say "take a breath and don't panic". I hit the water and my vest zipper popped off so I became trapped underneath the boat with lanyards tangled around my legs. I couldn't see past a foot in the water but I know you helped me stay calm and get untangled. Had i paniced i would of gone into shock and not lived.The next day was mothers day and I owe you and your family to be able to live and thank my mother. Tears and respect for you, thank you so much for watching over us.

I just cant believe he was there...it was definitely a life moment. I knew I was falling into my death and more so when I hit the water plus the boom to the head. I don't know why my vest popped off but I'm super thankful I heard him take a breath & stay calm.

You think having license's and swim quals would make you more prepared but I learned the hard way along with several others hurt outside today that mother nature and the water has no mercy. I couldn't of done it without him.

Even our instructor was surprised how fast this storm hit us. It was 30miles out west & normally takes a minute per mile. But this storm hit in what felt like five minutes. All of us who were involved filled out reviews on the 11th of may 2014 about the bruises and cuts we got. Six sail boats & we all capsized. Two got thrown into the rocks and even our instructors on two power boats seriously thought about abandoning rescue because they themselves were in severe danger. I don't blame them with that hail size marbles and wind. We did not have helmets and hats were soaked with water providing no protection.

My brother asked if i have told my mom about the event...how do you tell your mom on what's suppose to be a joyous day(mexican mother's day is on 10th may 2014) ...today might of been your last. I'm still shell shocked but I had to thank Stephen Wall for today. :'( it hurts so bad knowing you just lived a near death moment and can relate to a comrade...seriously, thank this man for watching over me today!

I had a navy captain as my crew mate. He helped me stay afloat as I fought my vest to stay on once I surfaced. I'm in the water again today(11 May 2014) and I'm still teary. Our instructor let us know our weather changed from 14 knots to 40+ around 3pm. We didn't have a chance but we did what we could to save everyone and the equipment. Appreciate the good wishes, just know a fellow comrade helped me from above.

Patti Gicas, thank you for raising such a wonderful man who still reaches out to help us. His spirit lives on and he is watching over us. I hope to be able to stop in Texas to show my gratitude(I do intend to stop in texas!). I can not thank you enough Patti.

I just got off the phone with my mom(12 May 2014, it took me some time to be able to tell her, she called me because i couldn't tell her. I had my older brother brief her). I couldn't find the gentle way to explain what happened but I did. She then told me that Friday night she dreamed of being at a marina with small sailboats going into the oceans horizon. She boarded a sail boat with a baby. She was in the middle and turned back to see my father smiling at how funny it is for my mom to be on a boat. She's afraid of the ocean. When she looked back to check on the baby she saw it had left on the sail boat alone and she was no longer in the boat. Panic ensued as she cried for someone to save her baby. She woke up after this and gave prayer to watch over her kids. She feared, as many dreams have gave her warning before, she was about to lose one of her babies to the ocean. I am the 2nd born out of four siblings. I was the one child she was not worried about. "I never thought you would be in harm." I'm thankful  she prayed & stephen helped.

Its these moments in people's lives that prove their is a higher being and life after death. My mom always tells us, "no matter how old you get, your still my baby" :")

 That day we were all learning the basic's of sailing. I went the next day, forcing myself, to go take my knowledge test. I passed and i'm licensed to sail. I am still pursuing licenses and future ownership of a sail boat. My song to this story would be Nearer my god to thee. I was left with bruises and scratches on my arms, buttocks, legs, hip, torso & feet.  Panicing is the number one cause of people drowning. Going into shock lasts up to 30 minutes is what my instructor told us, once that happens your pretty much limp and very few survive.

  My cousin Victor texted me at 3:01pm that day, I was in the water from 9am to 445pm. his text read "Wish you a nice weekend, enjoy & stay safe cousin". The irony of what cops would of found...I can't show enough grattitude to you stephen and his family. I can only wish to pay a small token of how thankful I am of your son living on and watching over us.
   
 Looking at this weather report i did not know it went on for an hour +. hail from pebble to quarter size(.75inch), flying at 56+ mph as reported by the mwr wind meter at Naval Station Norfolk Sailing Center & Marina. Below is the weather history on that day. I did not make a false story, these events did happen and Stephen Wall lives on. God bless him and his family!


His memorial pamphlet sits in my room to this day and my mom has been putting out flowers for him, along with her children and their photos. From one mother to another, she sends her gratitude and thankfullness.   

http://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=AKQ&issuedby=AKQ&product=LSR&format=CI&version=35&glossary=0



000 NWUS51 KAKQ 102033 LSRAKQ
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA 433 PM EDT SAT MAY 10 2014
..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON... ..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....             ..REMARKS..
0308 PM     HAIL             HOLIDAY PARK            37.07N  76.32W 05/10/2014  E0.75 INCH       CITY OF HAMPTON    VA   TRAINED SPOTTER
            PEA TO DIME SIZED HAIL...45MPH WIND GUST
0310 PM     MARINE TSTM WIND DOMINION TERM ASSOC     36.96N  76.42W 05/10/2014  M56 MPH          CITY OF NEWPORT NE VA   BUOY
0316 PM     MARINE TSTM WIND 2 WNW WILLOUGHBY BEACH  36.98N  76.31W 05/10/2014  M44 MPH          ANZ632             VA   BUOY
            WILLOUGHBY DEGUASSING STATION
0318 PM     HAIL             WILLOUGHBY BEACH        36.97N  76.29W 05/10/2014  E0.75 INCH       CITY OF NORFOLK    VA   TRAINED SPOTTER
            32MPH WIND GUST
0328 PM     HAIL             SMITHFIELD              36.98N  76.62W 05/10/2014  E0.88 INCH       ISLE OF WIGHT      VA   LAW ENFORCEMENT
            DIME TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL
0330 PM     HAIL             5 N CHESTERFIELD        37.45N  77.51W 05/10/2014  E0.75 INCH       CHESTERFIELD       VA   NWS EMPLOYEE
0342 PM     MARINE TSTM WIND DOMINION TERM ASSOC     36.96N  76.42W 05/10/2014  M40 MPH          CITY OF NEWPORT NE VA   BUOY
0345 PM     MARINE TSTM WIND 4 NNW CAPE HENRY        36.97N  76.05W 05/10/2014  M40 MPH          ANZ634             VA   BUOY
            FIRST LANDING BUOY
0400 PM     HAIL             ZUNI                    36.87N  76.82W 05/10/2014  M0.50 INCH       ISLE OF WIGHT      VA   NWS EMPLOYEE
            35MPH WIND GUST
&&
EVENT NUMBER AKQ1400922 AKQ1400919 AKQ1400918 AKQ1400921 AKQ1400924 AKQ1400925 AKQ1400920 AKQ1400917 AKQ1400923
$$
DAP 
  

   
   
   
   
  

The First time I met Stephen

January 22, 2014

The fist time I met stephen was in the beginning of our careers as sailors. We had just both unfortunately been removed from the school we had been attending and were stuck in the hell hole they called Transient Personnel Unit or TPU. Basically the day to day routine here was wake up, stand in a line and then swab or mop the floor for 6-8 hours until someone decided we were done. The whole pupose of this was to basically make us work until they got us a new set of orders. So here is where I met wall. He got to TPU about a week or so before I did. I got moved over there and they assigned my to this big hospital looking room it had big window, tile floor, the constant smell of some sort of bleach cleaner that was used 5-6 times a day, and 3 dark blue bunk beds with a desk underneath them. Well seeing as I was the last person to get to that room I was stuck with the bed nearest to the door. This is where i met wall for the first time. I remember this redheaded kid who looked goofy because of the bootcamp glasses he was wearing come right up to me shake my hand and introduce me, I had never had someone so eager to meet me before so it was a bit of a shock how quickly he wanted to be my friend. through the few days we were there I got to talking a lot with Stephen and found a few things out, he was super adventurous, and he wanted to be a gym teacher. When he told me he had a degree in Kinesiology I thought he had just made it up because I'd never heard of that before, but it turned out to be a real thing. The thing that sticks out in my mind about our time at TPU was a few things. Stephen was a very dedicated person, he would give his 100% to just about anything he wanted to. I found this out because every morning at around 530am he would wake up, climb out of his extremely squeeky bunk bed (this is how I know, because it woke me up every single time) and he would put on his uniform, a turtle neck, two coats, a scarf, earmuffs, and gloves and he would walk close to a mile to the chow hall in about 30 degrees, less if there was wind just so he could get his omlette. EVERY SINGLE DAY he did this, there was never a time were he would say to himself "man, its too cold and im not that hungry i can wait until lunch" nope, not Stephen. I will never forget being awoken every morning by wall because thats just the kind of person he was. He would never give less than his better no matter how trivial or unimportant the task was. We ended up getting the same orders to leave the same day to the same place in pensacola. So naturally, being the decent friends we had become, we looked forward to our time in pensacola. Once we got there Stephen and I were like glue, we always hung out and he was always there for me as a friend, and it continued as we then again go orders to San Diego together. I have so many stories about Stephen and myself but for some reason whenever I think of him I always think about him going to chow every morning and that squeeky bunk bed. I will never forget  the impact he had on my life and the fun times we had running around Chicago, pensacola and san diego causing all sorts of havoc (at least in our minds). Thank you Stephen.

January 11, 2014

When I first moved to Pensacola, Swall and I went on an adventure to one of the coolest beach bars there called Flounders. There are sand volleyball courts in the back of the bar right on the beach. Swall and I sat at a table, drinking our drinks, and after a little liquid courage, decided to challenge some people that were playing. In true Swall form, he got very into the game, and we ended up winning! What a great memory... I will forever miss that contagious enthusiasm.

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