“I said yes.”
Those were the words Cassandra Weaver shared after the family of Coast Guard rescue swimmer Tyler Jaggers fulfilled his plan to propose — placing the ring on her hand at his bedside as he lay dying from injuries suffered during a high-risk offshore rescue.
Jaggers, 31, an aviation survival technician assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Astoria, Oregon, died Thursday, March 5, from critical injuries he suffered during a Feb. 27 rescue mission roughly 120 nautical miles west of Cape Flattery, Washington, according to the US Coast Guard.
But before he passed, his family made sure one of his final dreams came true.
In a tribute shared on Instagram, Weaver said Jaggers had been quietly planning to propose, telling close friends he was preparing to buy a ring and surprise her.
“We all compared notes… and it’s what he wanted,” Jaggers’ father told the family after learning of the plan, Weaver wrote.
Surrounded by loved ones at his hospital bedside, Jaggers’ father placed the ring on Weaver’s finger on his son’s behalf.
“Yesterday, in the most Tyler way possible, that promise became real,” Weaver wrote. “I said yes.”
Jaggers was part of an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew responding to a medical emergency aboard the commercial motor vessel Momi Arrow when he was seriously injured during the rescue operation, the Coast Guard said.
He was initially taken to Victoria General Hospital in British Columbia before being transferred to Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
During a ceremony attended by his family and fellow crew members, the Coast Guard posthumously recognized Jaggers’ actions by advancing him to Petty Officer Second Class and awarding him the Distinguished Flying Cross, one of the military’s highest honors for heroism during aerial flight, officials said.
“Aviation Survival Technician Jaggers represented the very best of our Service and the Aviation Rescue Swimmer community,” Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said.
Jaggers joined the Coast Guard in January 2022 and had been stationed at Air Station Astoria since April 2024.
Before that assignment, he received recognition from the Secretary of Homeland Security for superior performance while serving aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter Legare during operations in the Caribbean Sea.
‘Loved Life In The Biggest Way’
Weaver described Jaggers as a joyful, adventurous partner who embraced life fully.
“The world will remember Tyler as an American hero,” she wrote. “But to me, he was so much more than Rescue Swimmer #1087.”
Weaver said Jaggers approached each day with enthusiasm and kindness, waking early each morning to tell her he loved her and how excited he was for the day ahead.
“Tyler loved life in the biggest way,” she wrote. “We surfed, fished, mountain biked, skied, hiked, and explored as much of the world as we could together.”
Though standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 230 pounds, Weaver said Jaggers had a gentle nature and loved animals — even pulling over the truck to admire baby cows in fields.
“He was a gentle giant,” she wrote.
Jaggers, she said, lived a life defined by discipline, humility, and deep love.
“Tyler was only 31, but he lived bigger, loved deeper, and experienced more life than most people will in a lifetime,” Weaver wrote.
“I will remember him as my greatest love, my partner in adventure, and the man who made every day feel like the start of something beautiful.”
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