Coast Guard officer retires after 30 years
A time-honored tradition was witnessed by a large crowd at the U.S. Coast Guard Station on Fort Myers Beach at 2 p.m. Friday.
Chief Warrant Officer Pete Louzao was honored for 30 years of distinctive service at his retirement ceremony. In attendance were family, friends, crew, service men and service woman.
Louzao, a New Jersey native and 1979 graduate of Fort Myers High School, began his distinguished career after completing Recruit Basic Training at Alameda, Calif., in 1979. In June 2007, he completed his tour of duty as Commanding Officer of the FMB USCG Station and has been assigned at Marine Safety Detachment in Fort Myers for the past two years, conducting district-wide military training and assisting the Coast Guard Auxiliary as a training Qualifications Examiner.
Louzao collected many accolades during his career including the Meritorious Service Medal; the Commandants Letter of Commendation; the USCG Commendation Medal; the USCG Achievement Medal; and the USCG Good Conduct Medal.
At the retirement ceremony, the chief warrant officer was presented a Certificate of Appreciation from the Services of the Armed Forces of the United States of America signed by President Barack Obama; the U.S. flag that flew over San Juan, Puerto Rico; a Certificate of Retirement; and a traditional Shadow Box (the crew would construct a box of the finest timber and place within it all things that reflect his accomplishments; only then a man with a shadow of himself can safely depart his ship and come ashore).
Louzao then delivered his orders and recited his departing remarks. After acknowledging members of his family and thanking them for putting up with a lot of his sea stories, he shared memories including an assignment during his first year on the Virgin Islands when he met former President Jimmy Carter.
“We were taking him from St. Thomas to St. Johns,” said Louzao. “He asked to take over the helm. (Being) a young seaman who just came from boot camp with all this knowledge, I said, ‘No.’ My commanding officer told me ‘He’s the President of the United States. If he wants to drive the boat, let him drive the boat.’ Sometimes life has its privileges.”
Louzao also addressed his mother, whom he called “a very special lady.”
“I never knew the impact that my mom had on our family until many years after,” he said.
The retiring officer then reflected on his Navy-veteran father who passed away in 1994 and was buried at sea. During that burial, a dolphin was seen swimming around his father’s spread ashes.
“That meant something to us because we said dad loved to fish and will probably come back reincarnated as a dolphin,” said Louzao. “As early as this morning (when I) was dropping off a few things, that dolphin was right in the Gulf. So I know dad’s here.”