James A. Mariano Jr.

James A. Mariano Jr., age 50, of Mechanicsburg passed away Monday, September 14, 2015. Born May 22, 1965 in Bryn Mawr, he was a son of the late James A. Mariano, Sr. and Florence L. (Worley) Ryder of Mechanicsburg.
He retired from the US Navy as a Master Chief Petty Officer/Command Master Diver after 28 years of loyal naval service including 22 years of experience in diving, salvage, and demolition operations. The following are some of the projects he participated in during his career:
James directed and supervised the Bonhomme Richard search expedition in the North Sea, and his dive team made naval history as the first surface supplied navy divers to walk the bottom of the North Sea.
Working with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), he directed the successful penetration and search of a fully intact WWII aircraft and subsequent recovery of three service members missing for over 70 years. During Operation Unified Response in Haiti, he assisted in opening Port-au-Prince Harbor for delivery of humanitarian aid. He diagnosed and supervised the 14 hour hyperbaric recompression treatment for a Haitian civilian, paralyzed from the waist down after a diving accident. The diagnoses, expeditious use of adjunctive therapy and additional 5 hour treatment resulted in the individual’s ability to walk under his own power and preserved his quality of life.
Jim was a member of the search and rescue dive team for the Flight 800 airplane disaster in Long Island Sound. In 2000, he was instrumental in the recovery of the propeller and shaft of the USS Monitor, a historic Civil War ironclad. Later, in 2002, he was the Project Master Diver of an operation which resulted in the recovery of the 210-ton gun turret and two Dahlgren cannons which are currently on display at the The Mariner's Museum in Newport News. He served as Officer in Charge of an a-float salvage of two British helicopters in the Northern Arabian Gulf during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Jim served during Operation Desert Storm, Desert Shield, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, and received numerous Navy Achievement Awards including the Navy Commendation Medal and the Navy Achievement Medal.
Jim was a graduate of Cedar Cliff High School, employed at the American Auto Auction, Mechanicsburg, was a member of American Legion Post 109 and was a former volunteer with Upper Allen Fire Company.
Surviving are his three children, Cory, Casey and Cara Mariano all of Richmond, VA; his mother and stepfather Flossie and Charlie Ryder of Mechanicsburg; his former wife Kim (Rohrabaugh) Mariano of Richmond, VA; brother Paul Mariano of Mechanicsburg and two step brothers, Mark and Scott Ryder both of Dillsburg.
Memorial services will be 2:30 p.m. Sunday, September 20, 2015 at First United Methodist Church, 135 W. Simpson St., Mechanicsburg where there will be a visitation from 12:30 until 2:00 p.m. The Rev. Dr. Dennis Keller will be officiating.
Memorial contributions may be made to The Pennsylvania Wounded Warriors Inc. at 1117 Country Club Road, Camp Hill, PA 17011, The Mariner's Museum at 100 Museum Dr., Newport News, VA 23606, or Upper Allen Fire Company, 104 Gettysburg Pike, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055.
For more information or to send messages of condolence, please visit www.Parthemore.com.