DAY 2

SATURDAY MAY 2

Matt Croucher

We were on the go first thing again yesterday morning, helping Dominic to get out of bed. To be truthful, we almost had a bit of an accident when we were hoisting him up into his wheelchair. He took a little tumble but no damage was done to him or to that expensive chair of his and we soon had him ready for the day.

After breakfast at the Kountry Kitchen, which is in the same ownership as Rib Daddy’s, we made it to the swimming pool at Jacob’s Aquatic Center – that’s how they spell it over here – in Key Largo about ten o’clock.

The pool there is much deeper than normal, and we soon had Dom in his wetsuit and raring to go. Using the Pegasus Thruster, which a good bloke called Dean Vitale has developed, Dom was able to go down a full 12 feet, and it was clear from his face inside the mask that he was having a ball. Dean and the other instructors, Ray, Ted and Merissia were on hand all the time taking their instruction from Fraser who I know has been really pleased with Dom’s progress.

The most important thing was that he was able to equalise the pressure in his ears really well, which means he should be able to go much deeper when he eventually dives in the sea sometime during the next few days. The weather out to sea has been a bit windy so we don’t know exactly when that dive will be.

Today is a rest day for Dom, and to be truthful we could all do with a break as we are all a bit tired after the hectic events of the past couple of days. It’s been great fun and the amount of things which our American friends are putting on for us is really quite overwhelming.

Last night, for instance, we were entertained by the Elk’s Lodge in Key Largo. It’s the local branch of a national social club organisation, and their hospitality was tremendous. The local girl scouts brought us gifts and we spent ages getting our pictures taken with our American fellow veterans.

They wouldn’t let us leave without taking part in their karaoke evening, and Martin and Steve did the honours, Steve bringing the house down with his Elvis Presley-style rendition of Suspicious Minds.

The place was full of American flags alongside Union Jacks, and that’s very much been the spirit of our visit so far. The local people are always offering to organise things for us and inviting us to their homes. It’s very much part of the way they support their troops and those who have fought alongside them.

We’ll see much more of it tomorrow, no doubt, when we take part in the parade to salute the wounded warriors and ourselves. It’s going to be a 20-mile drive up from the Islander Hotel where we are staying to Key Largo. There will be sheriff’s police cars leading us and the local fire service at our rear, but other than that I don’t know what to expect.

I do know that local people are expecting the parade to pass them by between nine and ten and I’m told there will be plenty people out to cheer us on – I don’t know if we’d get that back home.