Honoring the Past, Restoring the Future
Warrior Memorial Reefs Foundation Announces Expanded Celebration of Life Tributes Honoring Legendary Navy Divers with Living Artificial Reef Memorials
The Warrior Memorial Reefs Foundation, a veteran-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring fallen warriors, first responders, and their K9 partners through sustainable underwater memorials, is proud to announce a series of meaningful Celebration of Life events. These extraordinary tributes feature the deployment of cremated remains into specially designed artificial reefs in the Gulf of America, creating vibrant marine habitats that serve as eternal, visitable tributes while supporting ocean restoration.
The upcoming events highlight the legacies of four distinguished Navy divers whose service advanced underwater operations, explosive ordnance disposal, and human endurance beneath the sea. Two will receive salt urn deployments, as requested by the families. While the other two will involve aluminum urns placed within the interring area of their individual artificial reefs, followed by the securing of personalized markers bearing their epitaphs.
The series begins, in unison with the Man in the Sea Museum, with salt urn tributes to two icons of naval diving history:
On May 2, 2026 SEALAB Legend Bernie Campoli, the last surviving member of the historic SEALAB I underwater habitat team. A renowned underwater photographer and diver, Campoli documented the U.S. Navy’s early saturation diving missions in the 1960s, capturing award-winning images that advanced man-in-the-sea programs, naval special warfare photography, and ocean exploration. His contributions extended to support for NASA, Ocean Systems Inc., and Naval Special Warfare. He earned the Meritorious Civilian Service Award and remained a senior board member of the Man in the Sea Museum until his passing.
One week later, on May 9, 2026, Legion of Merit Recipient Master Diver Ronald William Mebust, a highly decorated Master Chief and Navy Master Diver whose exemplary career included leadership in underwater operations at Submarine Development Group 1 and beyond will be placed at the foot of the Military Diver Memorial.
Bernie Campoli’s event will be an all-day celebration, beginning at approximately 7:30 AM at the Man in the Sea Museum (17314 Panama City Beach Parkway, Panama City Beach, FL), the world’s oldest military diving museum, and a fitting tribute site, given Campoli’s deep personal connection as a senior board member and SEALAB pioneer. A formal escort will depart the museum around 8:30 AM, arriving at the Point South Marina at Bay Point at approximately 9:00 AM for boat departures to the Gulf deployment sites. Due to the expected large gathering honoring this legendary figure, attendees are encouraged to arrive early.
Ronald Mebust’s tribute will follow the same schedule, and coincides with the Master Diver Reunion. The Foundation warmly invites community participation, that being line the escort route, join the memorial gathering, or gather along the harbor to sound horns and fly flags high in salute to these fallen warriors.
Subsequently, the Foundation will host Celebrations of Life on Memorial Day and July 3, 2026 in the Destin area for:
Memorial Day, May 25, 2026, Master Diver Bruce Eugene “Ernie” Earnest, a Navy Master Chief Master Diver who served from 1969 to 1993. Known as “Dirty Ernie,” Earnest contributed extensively to deep-sea diving operations across multiple duty stations.
July 3, 2026 Senior Chief Clay Simmons Hedricks, Sr., a dedicated U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Diver and Teams operator who rose to Senior Chief Petty Officer. Hedricks exemplified courage and skill in high-risk underwater missions.
For these honorees, aluminum urns will be placed in the interring areas of their individual artificial reefs, after which personalized markers with epitaphs will be secured on top. Senior Chief Hedricks’ tribute will include a Celebration of Life Memorial at the EOD Wall in Niceville, followed by a motorcycle escort to the Destin Marina for the reef deployment.
These events build on the Foundation’s ongoing expansion of reef placements from Bay County westward toward Destin. This shift follows a permitting language objection raised during review by the Bay County Tourist Development Council’s newly appointed Coastal Resource Coordinator. Warrior Memorial Reefs Foundation views this development positively as a constructive step toward broader operations in Northern Florida, and remains hopeful that Bay County will soon implement a solution that allows for the continued use of the Foundation’s proven underwater urn and plaque reef system, while promoting regional growth.
“These four Navy divers dedicated their lives to service under some of the most demanding conditions imaginable, all while pioneering saturation diving, clearing ordnance, and pushing the boundaries of human capability beneath the waves,” says Joe Theodorou, Founder and President of the Warrior Memorial Reefs Foundation. “Through these Celebration of Life tributes, we honor their sacrifices by creating living memorials that families and the diving community can visit for generations. At the same time, we restore marine habitats in the Gulf they loved. This work blends remembrance, healing, marine conservation and community connection in a truly unique way.”
The Warrior Memorial Reefs Foundation operates as a 100% volunteer organization, relying entirely on donations, sponsorships, and grants to create and maintain these eco-friendly memorials at no cost to families. Previous partnerships include collaborations with the Man in the Sea Museum for the military diver memorial, underscoring the Foundation’s commitment to preserving diving history, while honoring our MilitaryVeterans and advancing ocean conservation.