Grieving members of Maryland’s swimming community say a Navy SEAL who died trying to save a fellow SEAL left a lasting impression on them.
Those who knew 37-year-old Christopher Chambers, who grew up in Cheverly, say they weren’t surprised to hear he dove into the Arabian Sea earlier this month to save Nathan Gage Ingram, who fell in while on a mission to stop a ship suspected of trafficking arms to Houthi rebels in Yemen. But both men drowned.
“Christopher Chambers is certainly a hero, but we’ve known that for a long time here in Cheverly,” said state Delegate Julian Ivey, who was a young boy when Chambers coached him at the Cheverly Swim and Racquet Club.
“That’s the guy that you want your son to be,” Ivey said.
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“I always remember him just showing leadership, being the first to practice, last to leave, always willing to help the individual who maybe wasn’t the strongest swimmer,” he said.
Chambers went on to swim at the University of Maryland. His former coach Sean Schimmel says he was a standout in the weight room.
“He had a big smile and he was always wearing it and he was just a really genuine and nice person,” Schimmel said.
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Chambers enlisted in the Navy in 2012 and finished SEAL training two years later. He won four achievement medals during his years of service.
“That’s how I want people to remember him -- selfless, thinking of others and obviously sacrificed his life for others,” Schimmel said.
Chambers went to Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville for two years. The school sent News4 a statement saying, “We thank him for his service and tremendous courage … and we hold him, his fellow officers and his family in our prayers.”
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