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Navy SEALs, veterans, first responders and others plunged into the waters of New York Harbor Saturday morning for the annual NYC SEAL Swim, which honors the service and sacrifice of America's greatest heroes.
"This is all about honoring our fallen," retired Navy SEAL Brad Geary told Fox News' Joey Jones. "Honoring our country, honoring God."
Against the backdrop of the Statue of Liberty, Geary joined fellow retired Navy SEALs Bill Brown and Jimmy May to reflect on the mission behind the event, which combines miles of swimming and physical challenges with tributes to those who served and sacrificed.
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Brown, who founded the NYC SEAL Swim, said the location itself is part of the message.
"[We chose the setting] because of the Statue of Liberty and what she represents: our freedoms, our civil liberties," he said.
"Ellis Island, what does she represent? All the men and women who came to our country for a better life, our nation's diversity. Let's talk about Empty Sky Memorial, what does she represent? All the Americans who lost their lives on 9/11," Brown added.
"We love this country."
May, a retired SEAL commander who founded Beyond the Brotherhood, the event's 2026 beneficiary, said the mission for the nonprofit grew out of his own difficult transition from military to civilian life and the loss of four friends to suicide.
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"When I first got out of the teams, a lot of my friends, four, to be specific, had killed themselves, and I wasn't sure what to do," May said. "I felt really alone."
That experience drove May to build the kind of support network he felt was missing, connecting fellow SEALs with a renewed sense of community, service and purpose.
May said the organization has since received an "outpouring of support" from across the country.
Saturday's gathering brought together veterans, first responders, supporters and families of the fallen.
Some of those families have found their own meaning in the tradition, with many returning year after year to stand alongside the SEAL community.
"It means so much," said Cindy Dietz, a Gold Star mom whose son, Navy SEAL Danny Dietz, was killed in Afghanistan in 2005.
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"I've been here... since Bill started. And to watch the team guys, to be with the team guys means so much to me."