Navy officer was ‘good at everything,’ twin says

By Susanna Ray

Herald Writer

EVERETT — The family of 23-year-old Carrie Shoemaker had enough to worry about with her and her twin brother both Navy officers during a time of war.

Now they’re finding themselves grieving over an unexpected tragedy: Carrie was visiting Everett with her ship, the San Diego-based USS Milius, when she was killed by a hit-and-run driver here while enjoying an evening of "liberty" Friday night.

Now her family and friends are streaming in from around the country for a memorial service on the base Tuesday afternoon.

"We, my wife especially, felt it was important we be a part of the ship service, because those were her friends and shipmates, and the people she was with now," said her father, Michael Shoemaker, reached by telephone Sunday at the family’s home in Bryn Mawr, Penn.

Carrie’s twin brother, Mike Shoemaker, and boyfriend, Travis Williams, flew up Saturday night from San Diego, where they are also based as Navy officers. They spent Sunday in Everett, meeting with the captain of the Milius, having lunch with the crew and preparing for today’s scheduled arrival of family members.

"All the flags were at half-mast for her," Williams said. He first met Carrie here in the summer of 1998, when the two spent a summer on board the Everett-based USS Paul F. Foster as part of their Navy ROTC training. Sunday, he said it was hard to walk past the Foster, which was tied up next to the Milius, and see such simple things as the base Laundromat where the couple washed their clothes and first got to know each other.

Mike Shoemaker described his twin sister as "good at everything," from school to sports to her Navy career. They both graduated from college last year, she from Duke University and he from the Naval Academy, and became ensigns in the Navy.

"She was actually higher ranking than I was for a couple of days, and she just ate that up," he recalled. "But I gave her her first salute as an officer."

Carrie was the electronic warfare officer for the Milius, which was sent to Everett in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, her father said, but she was also the ship’s lay religious leader in charge of services and burials at sea.

"We’ve always been a religious family, but when she went to Duke, her mother was very concerned, because she was so busy with her engineering studies and she slept in a lot of Sundays. This (her religious duties) was something we didn’t even know about. And it’s just heartening. The captain said she was very religious and had a big influence on the ship," Michael Shoemaker said.

Carrie was also very generous, he added. When she was in Newport, R.I., for Navy training, she noticed that a custodian for one of the buildings never wore a coat. She found out he was an immigrant from Central America and couldn’t afford to buy winter wear. So she bought him a warm coat, wrapped it up and left the package for him anonymously.

Carrie had been accepted at all the Ivy League schools, her father said. She graduated from Duke last year with a double major in electrical engineering and biomedical engineering, accomplished in four years and with a 3.4 grade point average, he added proudly.

"That kid was wonderful," he said. "People need to know what a waste it is. Here was a kid with so much promise in life. She was enjoying herself. She was having fun."

Shoemaker was struck by a vehicle at 11:12 p.m. Friday as she crossed the street with friends at the corner of Broadway and Hewitt Avenue. She was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she later died of her injuries.

A suspect was questioned by police but has been released as the investigation continues. No charges had been filed as of Sunday, said Everett police spokesman Boyd Bryant.

"It’s really bad to be a visiting ship and have this happen," said Jeanie Kitchens, spokeswoman for Naval Station Everett. "It doesn’t look good for Everett."

You can call Herald Writer Susanna Ray at 425-339-3439 or send e-mail to ray@heraldnet.com.