Sunday, September 22 was supposed to be one of the happiest days of marine Jeff Briar and his family’s life. Instead, it turned into a nightmare.
According to Marine Times, the Marine Corps confirmed Jeff “was a member of Headquarters Battalion, Tactical Training Exercise Control Group, in Twentynine Palms, California.”
https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.fallingbriar/posts/10218024390114331
After Jeff and the love of his life, Jennifer, exchanged vows in front of their family and friends in San Diego, California, Jeff and his kids went for a swim in the ocean. According to a GoFundMe set up for the family, the tide “became too much for them,” and Jeff focused on saving his children first. He “was not able to overcome the strength of the ocean.”
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10211586310407886&set=a.1310446895793&type=3&theater
The children were brought ashore to safety by his fellow Marines and they began administering CPR on Jeff while waiting for an ambulance, which took him to the hospital. There, they tried to revive him for over an hour but were unsuccessful.
Jeff’s friends said that “all he ever wanted to be a husband, father and to serve his country.”
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2492095444157487&set=ecnf.100000711674476&type=3&theater
He is survived by his wife Jennifer and three children.
Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this devastating time. If you’d like to help Jeff’s family out with his funeral expenses, you can do so here.