From Survivor to Supporter: Coast Guard Foundation Donor Donald Denihan Gives Back After Life-Saving Rescue
Three times, Donald Denihan has fought for his life when it was slipping away. And each time he prevailed. At sixteen years old, he survived a gruesome hunting accident. In his thirties, he overcame an aggressive form of prostate cancer, and a decade later he was rescued after a storm flipped his fishing boat in the Bahamas.
This last miracle brought him in contact with the U.S. Coast Guard. While fishing offshore with a local captain, their 15-foot boat ran out of gas and capsized. Denihan, another passenger, Gene, and the captain desperately tried to stay afloat on the overturned vessel as night surrounded them with intense thunder and lightning.
When they didn’t return as planned, Denihan's family contacted Bahamian search and rescue authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard to mount a search. A Coast Guard helicopter search was launched, but it wasn’t until 19 hours later that a private seaplane, hired by Denihan's brother, spotted the men and brought them to safety.
That experience ignited Denihan's gratitude and curiosity. He later visited the Coast Guard’s Seventh District Command Center in Miami, which had coordinated the rescue efforts. There, he learned how the Coast Guard searches for people who are lost at sea.
His appreciation deepened after visiting a Coast Guard station on Long Island. He was struck by the work the young service members do for the country and the sacrifices they make to serve. “I'm 63 years old and I look at these Coast Guard members; they look like my kids,” Denihan relayed. “I always thought the government did a lot for them. Except they don’t. A lot of funding has to come from the private sector, so I have tried to do things that are good for morale, like gyms and support for their family members.”
Motivated by these insights, Denihan chose to support the Coast Guard Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of Coast Guard members and their families.
Denihan also decided to tell his story to inspire others. His book, Hard Bargain, What Life-Altering Experiences Taught Me About Faith, Friendship, and Family, describes his battles with death and what they taught him. Denihan established the God is Good Charitable Fund and started an endowment at the Coast Guard Foundation for the mental resiliency and morale of Coast Guard members.
Those who wish to learn more about Denihan's journey or his charitable work can visit thegodisgoodcharitablefund.com. He hopes that those moved by his story will support the endowment fund at the Coast Guard Foundation.
"I still think there's good people and I think the Coast Guard is one of them,” said Denihan. “Every member I’ve met, I’ve been more inspired by their love of doing their job. They really appreciate those simple things that we’re doing and that makes you feel good."
Title Image: Donald Denihan (center) poses for a photo with former Coast Guard District Seven Commander Rear Adm. William Baumgartner, and staff, after a visit to the district command center that coordinated the search after the small boat he was fishing from capsized in the Bahamas.
