More than 50 people gathered at Astoria’s Maritime Memorial Park to honor mariners lost on Oregon’s waters, in a Seamen’s Memorial ceremony held as part of the Astoria Regatta. The walls of the memorial carry roughly 1,300 names, many decorated with flowers and mementos left by family and friends.

The ceremony paid special tribute to Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Tyler Jaggers, who died March 5 of injuries sustained during a rescue off the Washington coast. Coast Guard Executive Officer John Ferreira traced Pacific Northwest losses back to 1935, when Surfmen William Stultz, George Meadows and George Elkins died on a rescue at the Yaquina River bar.

“This Maritime Memorial is here to honor all who have given their lives in one form or another to the fishing and maritime industries that built and sustain Astoria,” Mayor Sean Fitzpatrick said. The service closed as Columbia River Bar Pilot Capt. Joe Sohlberg, Ferreira and members of the Jaggers family walked to the end of the memorial and cast flowers into the river.

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