Peter Leroy Colombo

Duane's take

Now, what I'm about to tell you comes straight from the official marker — this is Duane's telling of the story of Peter Leroy Colombo. Some stories start with loss. This one starts with a boy, born in Galveston on December 23, 1905, and what happened to him at the age of seven.

Meningitis. It took his hearing. It took his speech.

It took the use of his legs. Most folks, confronted with all three of those things at once, might never find their way back. But Peter Leroy Colombo wasn't most folks — and Galveston, well, Galveston wasn't finished with him yet.

His brothers took him to the Texas coast. And in that water — that same Gulf of Mexico that would define his entire life — he swam. And he kept swimmin'.

And somewhere in all that salt water and effort, his legs came back to him. His hearing never did. But his legs came back.

In 1915, Colombo began attending the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin. There he learned to read lips. He learned sign language.

And he trained in swimming — building something in that pool that the Gulf had already started. When he returned to Galveston in 1921, he joined the Surf Toboggan Club, a group of volunteer lifeguards. He wasn't watching from the shore.

He was in the water. At eighteen years old, Peter Leroy Colombo became a hired lifeguard. Now think about what that means for a moment.

A man who cannot hear a cry for help — out there, every day, watching for it anyway. In a time of segregation, he pulled people from the water regardless of race. Hundreds of them.

Over a career that spanned approximately fifty years. He also set endurance and speed records in swimming matches, racing distances of up to thirty miles. And on top of all that, he was a pioneer surfer on the beaches of Galveston — the man was simply at home in the ocean in a way most of us never will be.

He officially retired in 1967. But retired, for Peter Colombo, apparently meant something a little different than it does for the rest of us. He continued to swim.

He continued to serve as a lifeguard when he was able. Because what do you do when the water is in your blood? When Peter Leroy Colombo died on July 12, 1974, the Texas State Legislature recognized him with a moment of silence.

He had officially saved over nine hundred people from drowning — with many other rescues going unrecorded. Nine hundred. Officially.

And those are just the ones anyone wrote down. In 2005, the natatorium at the Texas School for the Deaf — the very place where he had trained all those years ago — was named in his honor. A man who lost his hearing, his speech, and the use of his legs at seven years old went on to save over nine hundred lives in the water.

The Gulf of Galveston took something from Peter Leroy Colombo once. He spent the next fifty years taking people back from it. That's the kind of accounting that tends to land on the right side of history.

What the marker says

(December 23, 1905-July 12, 1974)Born in Galveston, Peter Leroy Colombo overcame disabilities to become a highly accomplished lifeguard. Born in 1905, Colombo lost his hearing, speech and use of his legs at the age of seven, due to meningitis. His brothers took him to the Texas coast where he swam, regaining use of his legs, though his hearing never returned. In 1915, Colombo began to attend the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin, where he learned to read lips and communicate in sign language, and where he also continued to train in swimming. He returned to Galveston in 1921 and soon joined the Surf Toboggan Club, a group of volunteer lifeguards.Colombo became a hired lifeguard at the age of 18. In a time of segregation, he would go on to save hundreds from drowning, regardless of race, over a career spanning approximately 50 years. In addition, Colombo set many endurance and speed records in swimming matches, often participating in races that were up to 30 miles long. He was also a pioneer surfer on the Galveston beaches.Colombo officially retired in 1967, but continued to swim and serve as a lifguard when he was able. When Peter Leroy Colombo died in 1974, he was recognized with a moment of silence by the Texas State Legislature. He had officially saved over 900 people from drowning, with many other rescues going unrecorded. In 2005, the natatorium at the Texas School for the Deaf was named in his honor. Today, Peter Leroy Colombo is remembered as an individual who did not allow disabilites to limit him, risking his life to rescue hundreds along the beaches of Galveston. (2008)