CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Daniel Graf, safely home and playing with son Tamatoa, was one of the sailors on the Hawaii-based USS Russell who rescued the crew of a downed U.S. bomber.

USS Russell hero
comes home

Daniel Graf, a rescue swimmer
in the Navy, helped save a
downed U.S. bomber crew

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By Lisa Asato
lasato@starbulletin.com

or Petty Officer 2nd class Daniel Graf, five years with the Navy could not have ended on a higher note.

As a rescue swimmer aboard the Pearl Harbor-based USS Russell, Graf helped save the lives of four crewmen who ejected from their malfunctioning B-1B Lancer bomber 15,000 feet over the Indian Ocean. The Air Force crew was on a long-range combat mission to Afghanistan when the crash occurred Dec. 12.

Yesterday, Graf was at home with his family at Barbers Point for the first time since being deployed Oct. 25.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Daniel Graf poses with wife Cherrianne and sons Tamatane, left, and Tamatoa.

"We were just doing our job," he said. "There wasn't a burning sea of oil; no guys were shooting at us or anything. There's probably guys out there doing more dangerous things. But we did our job, we did it well and got all four of them aboard.

"We're just happy to get those guys home. They were pretty beat up from jumping out of a plane."

Graf said he does not consider himself any more of a hero than the other 40,000 or so American troops deployed worldwide.

His wife, Cherrianne, however, could not be prouder.

"I couldn't have asked for anything better for him to leave on a better note," she said. "It was a safe rescue, there were no struggles and they all (survived). That's one thing we can be thankful for that these guys came out alive, and my husband and his shipmates were a part of it."

Graf, 29, has been a rescue swimmer for three years. He said every rescue swimmer wants to rescue somebody, but not many get the chance. He considers himself lucky: It was his first rescue and everything turned out fine.

"We train for the worst-case scenario; this was a best-case scenario," he said. The crewmen were conscious and talking, they were grouped together and all had flotation devices, he said. In addition, a P-3C Orion sub hunter was in contact with the downed men and helped guide the rescuers to the site.

"It was very quick and very easy for us," Graf said, adding there was not a lot of swimming involved. He helped two crewmen into the rigid-hull inflatable boat and gave them a medical check, which revealed minor cuts and bruises, he said. One man hopped aboard without assistance.

The rescue, he said, was the highlight of his career.

"It's unfortunate when we get called and have to do our job, but that's what we train for," Graf said. "You kind of get the attitude that if something happens you want to be there to get them out. It's kind of satisfying. ... I got a chance to help four guys (go) home to see their family."

The crash occurred 60 miles north of Diego Garcia, which houses a British air base. The Russell answered the distress beacon and, with the help of a KC-10 jet tanker and a P-3C Patrol Squadron Four out of Kaneohe, was able to find the servicemen in the water.

"From the time (they) went down, it took 212 to three hours for them to be safely aboard back on our ship," he said. "We were shocked we found them all so fast."

The Russell, with its crew of 25 officers and 300 enlisted soldiers, is expected to return to Pearl Harbor in April.

Graf returned to Hawaii yesterday because his five-year enlistment ended. At the end of the month, he and Cherrianne plan to move with their two sons, Tamatane, 8, and Tamatoa, 3, to Iowa City, Iowa, where Graf grew up.

Graf said he has enjoyed his time with the Navy, but he is glad he will get to spend time with his family, and he is also ready for new adventures. Both he and Cherrianne plan to go to school.