Megan Ernst and her two young children were eating dinner on Feb. 19, 2023, when four uniformed sailors and two Navy SEALs knocked on the front door of their Virginia Beach home.
“If they are at your door, there is no hope,” Ernst said, shaking her head as tears trailed down her cheeks.
Michael Ernst, chief special warfare operator, died in a training accident while performing a high-altitude, low-opening jump in Arizona. He was 36 and had been assigned to Naval Special Warfare Development Group, also known as SEAL Team 6, based at Virginia Beach’s Dam Neck Annex to Naval Air Station Oceana.
More than a year since her husband’s death, Megan Ernst said her focus is on healing her family and remembering her husband for more than the uniform he wore.
“First and foremost, he was a dad. He was my husband,” she said. “And he was a good, kind person.”
The couple met while attending college from 2004-08 in Ohio. They reconnected years later at a friend’s wedding, and in February 2013, Megan Ernst found herself visiting Hampton Roads. At the time, Michael Ernst was assigned to Virginia Beach-based SEAL Team 10.
The pair married in December 2014 at the chapel at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek. They welcomed a daughter, now 6, in 2017, and a son, now 4, in 2020. For the bulk of his Navy career, the family has lived in Virginia Beach near his East Coast-based assignments.
“It’s funny to think about the perception of what being married to a SEAL is like versus the reality,” Megan Ernst said with a laugh. “It is not romantic in any way, shape or form. They are gone all the time. They are stressed out a lot.”
Throughout their relationship, Michael Ernst deployed for more than six months on three occasions. There were times they went weeks without communicating and, due to the nature of his job, she often was left in the dark about where he was and when he would return. When he was not deployed, Megan Ernst estimated training pulled him away for a cumulative six months per year.
He kissed his family goodbye on Feb. 17, 2023, with the expectation that he would be home a week later to celebrate his birthday and settle into a slower-paced work schedule that revolved around his family. With 13 years of naval service, Michael Ernst was working toward becoming an instructor, she said.
Then … the worst.
“I was blindsided,” Megan Ernst said. “Never in a million years would I have thought that they would show up at my door on that training trip. Never.”
She said life was a blur in the weeks after his death.
“The machine that is the military starts,” Ernst said. “It’s so sad but they know what to do and how to do it when this happens.”
Michael Ernst’s unit, the Navy SEAL Foundation and the larger Hampton Roads military community swooped in to tend to the family’s every need. A dignified transfer happened at sunset the day after his death. One week later, a memorial service was held at the Little Creek amphitheater, just down the road from the chapel where the couple had married.
In late March, the family buried him at Arlington National Cemetery.
“That was my worst day,” Ernst said through tears. “It was so final. The image is burned into my head of them giving my son the flag — his little baby hands reaching out for that flag.”
She said she hopes her husband will be remembered as a family man — who prioritized his loved ones above all else — and as a dedicated Navy SEAL who excelled in his professional endeavors. His accolades included three Combat Action Ribbons, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and a Silver Star, which was awarded in 2021 following a successful hostage rescue.
But more than anything, she hopes he is remembered for…
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