‘Never quit’

Published 8:00 am Saturday, November 12, 2011

A former Lowndes County resident, Marine and cancer survivor successfully swam across the Mississippi River Friday morning while blindfolded, hands cuffed and legs shackled.

Jay Platt, 45, entered the water of the mighty Mississippi at approximately 11 a.m. Friday, near Friars Point, Miss. Though 6/10ths of a mile straight across, Platt had estimated the river’s currents would push the swim to about a mile and a half and that it would take about an hour to complete.

Instead, strong currents stretched the swim to an estimated two miles from starting point to completion. But he finished Friday’s swim in approximately 45 minutes, Platt told The Times by phone Friday afternoon.

Earlier this year, he set a goal to swim across the Mississippi on Veterans Day.

“There are a lot of naysayers who don’t understand why I do this,” Platt said. “People may think I’m crazy to do this but, look, some people, especially injured veterans may look at it and think if a one-eyed guy, with a brain tumor, can do the things he does, what can I do?”

Platt, the son of Joe and Dawn Platt of Lake Park, graduated Lowndes High School in 1984. He joined the Marines, becoming a gunnery sergeant, serving as a drill instructor and water-survival instructor.

In the 1990s, he was diagnosed with Von Hippel Lindau Syndrome. He is a cancer survivor who has battled brain tumors, spinal tumors and kidney cancer. The syndrome took his left eye in the late 1990s, leading him to leave the Marine Corps, believing that, if he could not deploy, he was not really a Marine.

In despair after the Marines and with his illnesses, Platt’s wife, Paz, a Marine master gunnery sergeant, pushed him to find a new direction in his life. He walked the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. Five years ago, at the age of 40, he became the third man ever to swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco with hands cuffed and his legs bound.

Platt swims to raise money and awareness for the nation’s injured veterans. Through motivational speaking, books and these adventures, he pushes this cause as “Mr. Unstoppable.” He’s scheduled to speak Tuesday at Valdosta State University.

Friday afternoon, he was warming up following his brisk swim.

With water temperatures estimated in the 50s, Platt momentarily contemplated quitting the swim within the first five minutes of entering the Mississippi.

“The cold was overwhelming,” he said. “The temperatures were about the same but it was worse than the cold of swimming Alcatraz.”

Platt wore a swimming suit that covered his chest and lower torso while leaving his arms and legs bare. He also wore a swimming cap. He swam unable to see, his hands cuffed behind his back, his legs bound together. He used a dolphin kick he learned in the Marines to propel himself.

Platt said he considered giving up a few times during the swim but was prompted forward by his brother, Jody Platt, who swam unrestricted beside of Jay.

“Jody told me to keep going,” Jay says. “If I got tired, he reminded me why I was doing this.”

Jody also served as Jay’s eyes in the water. He warned Jay of possible obstacles. He could also decide not to tell Jay certain things.

Mid-river, the current became stronger than expected. The current took them down river. Jay kept kicking, unaware he was making no progress across the river. Jody kept this information to himself. Jay eventually found a spot where he exited the swifter currents and began making progress again to the river bank.

Wife Paz and parents Joe and Dawn were among Platt’s supporters on shore. While Jay swam, one Mississippi resident stood on the shore discussing all of the things that could go wrong in the river. The naysayer said it couldn’t be done, or a tree might rise suddenly and strike the swimmers. Dawn Platt had to walk away from this man just so she didn’t have to hear his running commentary on everything that could go wrong while her sons were in the water.

In the end, Jay Platt proved the naysayers on the river side and in other places wrong. He accomplished his task.

In the moments when the water became too cold, or his legs tired, or a wave of water rushed down his throat and up his nostrils, Platt says he thought of all of the veterans who have overcome greater odds, who have overcome devastating injuries, Marines who have survived horrific deprivations.

Platt thought of an old Marine Corps saying, “Never quit, never die, always Semper Fi.” Then he would keep swimming.

VSU NIGHT WITH MR. UNSTOPPABLE

Jay Platt is scheduled to visit Valdosta State University.

When: 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15.

Where: VSU University Center Magnolia Room.

Ticket; $25, with proceeds to fund scholarships for VSU students majoring in accounting.

Sponsors: VSU and the Valdosta chapter of the Georgia Society for Certified Public Accountants.

More information on the visit: Visit http://www.valdostastate.org/gscpa.

More information on Jay Platt: Visit www.jayplatt.com