Written by Coronado High School Intern: Virginia Ryan
This article was originally published in the September 2023 Issue of Coronado Magazine. To read this article and more from Coronado Magazine, click here or the button below.
You probably know Retired Coronado Fire Captain Wayne Strickland from the many things he has done for the Coronado Community, like his service in the Fire Department and later his work in Suicide Prevention.
A native Californian, Strickland was born in Red Bluff California in 1945, but two months after his birth moved to Monterrey Park in East Los Angeles. As a young adult, he joined the Vietnam “Kiddie Cruise” Program, which allowed him to enlist before eighteen and get out before twenty-one. During his young adulthood was the Vietnam War draft. During his time, he served on the USS Galveston from 1965 to 1966, alongside the USS Midway. And when he got out, he enrolled into San Diego College for Fire Science.
Strickland had been introduced to the idea of firefighting from his neighbor. He described how his neighbor was always home and an extremely fun guy to be around, as well as incredibly handy. So in 1967, he joined the Coronado Fire Department, enjoying the strong sense of community and close colleagues he had, like Jim Blynn and Dennis Johnson, who helped out when it came to volunteer activities.
The Coronado Bridge was built two years after he joined the Fire Department, with the original design having no lights, no center divider, or no barrier wall. “In the fire department, you see a lot of bad stuff,” he said in an interview. “But you can make a big difference.” All the time, he saw terrible head-on collisions. But, he’s also witnessed suicides.
Since its debut, more than four hundred fifty people have died by suicide on the bridge. And Strickland has been advocating for suicide prevention since he got out of the Department. Partnering with Suicide Survivors Steve Buschard and Bertha Loaiza, his aim is to set up a fence on the bridge, to the city known as a “vertical cantilever net,” to prevent suicides, but Caltrans is slow to build it. Strickland believes that more awareness will help bring Caltrans to complete the project.
His journey to suicide prevention started when he joined the San Diego Suicide Prevention Coalition Group on Facebook. Strickland recounted how he encountered a man in the group that wanted to take his own life, so he had lunch with the man in National City. Talking with the man, Strickland realized all he needed was someone to listen to him and tell him that things will get better.
But when talking about the culture surrounding suicide in Coronado and in wider San Diego, Strickland noted how Coronado doesn’t want talk about it. He said, “You know, suicides do happen and you gotta tell people that they’re loved that you care about them. Forgive those, holding a grudge is no good. You gotta forgive people. Forgive them for what they do if they do really wrongly they go to jail, and even those they get forgiven.”
Survivors like Steve Buschard and Bertha Loaiza are people that he works with to help spread awareness. Survivors help humanize the subject and make it easier to understand from someone first hand. Strickland helped the both of them film Daniel Kennedy’s film Living Through It, where the survivors give their testimony about the subject.
Outside of suicide prevention, Strickland previously volunteered at the USS Midway, and now volunteers for Sharp Coronado Hospital. Groups he is a part of are the Coronado Yacht Club, which he became commodore of the San Diego’s Association of the Yacht club on December 8, 2022 and he’s part of the Rotary Club, where they help build houses and schools in Mexico.
Anyone who encounters Strickland is lucky enough to get to know him from his bright personality from his ability to deeply empathize with others. Coronado is grateful to have him.
This article was originally published in the September 2023 Issue of Coronado Magazine. To read this article and more from Coronado Magazine, click here or the button below.
More Photos of Wayne Strickland:
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