About The Author
Veteran, Aviator, and Author of Adrift
J. Key Jr.
For nearly three decades, my duty was to rescue people lost at sea. But in my own life, I was the one who needed saving.
Years of Service
28year 9Months
Enlisted at
17
in
1956
Final Rank
Lieutenant Commander
Final Rank
A Life Forged in Service and Flight
In 1956, at just seventeen years old, Andrew J. Key, Jr. enlisted in the United States Coast Guard. What began as an escape from a turbulent youth became a distinguished 29-year military career. Serving on the front lines of Coast Guard aviation and search-and-rescue, Andrew faced extreme conditions and high-stakes missions where split-second decisions meant the difference between life and death. Through grit, discipline, and dedication, he rose through the enlisted ranks to Chief Petty Officer, earned his commission as a Chief Warrant Officer, and ultimately retired as a Lieutenant Commander.
Coast Guard Years
I spent the first few years of my journey attending military training schools and transferring from unit to unit.
I scaled the enlisted ranks to Chief Petty Officer before being promoted to Chief Warrant Officer in 1969. Later, after graduating from a special class of Officer Candidate School, I realized my goal of becoming an unrestricted line officer.
My career blossomed after becoming a regular commissioned officer, attaining the rank of Lieutenant-Commander before retiring in 1984.
 HU-16 Albatross No. 7250 |  USCG Seaplane · c. 1950s |
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Why I Wrote Adrift
When Marie passed away, Andrew found himself facing his deepest trial yet: navigating life without the woman who had helped guide him home. In his grief, he began looking back across his eighty-plus years—realizing that through every storm, near-fatal moment, and personal failure, God had placed specific people, mentors, and loved ones along his path to alter his course.
Andrew wrote Adrift not just as a memoir, but as a beacon of hope for anyone feeling lost, heartbroken, or beyond redemption. His story stands as living proof that no matter how turbulent the waters of life become, you are never beyond the reach of grace.
Retirement & Loss
After my Coast Guard days, I explored new horizons, working with aerospace companies and later as a District Lighting Engineer for a major lighting manufacturer before transitioning to full retirement in 1995.
Marie and I spent the next thirty years touring the country in our RV in the summertime, spending our winters in Continental Country Club in central Florida before relocating to Sun City West, Arizona in 2011. In 2007, we found a cozy little mountain retreat near Flagstaff where we enjoyed the beauty of nature from June to October each year.
Sadly, I lost Marie, the love of my life to an incurable disease on the day after Thanksgiving 2021