An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Vice commander, family collect sand from world’s beaches

  • Published
  • By Karen Petitt
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Col. Gregory Green's Air Force career and personal travels have taken him to 300 beaches the past 22 years and the one must-have item he brings back from his globetrotting adventures is sand.

Walk into his home today and visitors can see his vast collection from virtually every place he's visited. The sand is displayed in clear glasses lined up on shelves he custom built. Hand-written labels identify each one from exotic locations such as the pink sands of Bonaire, the black magnetic sands of Costa Rica, and the orange sands of the Gulf of Oman.

"I grew up in Effingham, Illinois, so my experience with sand was what came in the sand box--typical brown," he said. "It wasn't until my first trip to the Florida panhandle that I saw this incredibly white, soft sand, and I thought it was so cool that I bagged it up and took it home."

Thus began this pilot's humble sand collecting beginnings as he crisscrossed the planet with his assignments in refueling aircraft and DV airlift. His wife, Sol, said when they were first married, he kept his collection underneath the bed because he hadn't decided on how to display them. Then, when he was deployed in Moron, Spain, he saw clear, tall and trim glasses that the locals used for drinking. He thought those would be a perfect--and cheap--way to display the sand.

"I thought about test tubes, but they're expensive, and I didn't like the fact that you couldn't see the character of the sand very well. These glasses do the trick," he said. He then built a series of three-foot shelves out of poplar wood--22 so far, stained them a cherry red color, grooved a slot for the labels, and made an inset for each glass to keep them sturdy.

This father of three said the entire family has gotten into the fun and helps him gather sand from their family vacations.

"The kids help me collect the sand, and it does get a little heavy, so I wrap them in plastic bags and divide them up between us so we can carry them in our luggage." That technique works well, although he said he was once stopped at an international airport because they thought the sand pouches resembled drugs, so he was detained until that matter was cleared up.

This collection is both impressive and scientific, as each type of sand tells a story about its location and geology, and each holds a special memory for the 375th Air Mobility Wing Vice Commander. There are rocks from Peru, tumbled glass from a beach in California, pebbles from Monaco, sharp shards from Norway, shiny metallic sands from Panama, and red and black sands from Maui.

"No two are alike," said the beachcomber. "And, each holds a memory for me, whether it's from a family vacation or military service trip. We love the beach--surfing in Hawaii to boogie boarding in Mexico--we love that life. So, collecting the sand is a way for me to remember these events in my life as well as keep track of the many places I've been fortunate to travel."

He said when he tells friends about his sand collection, a typical response is an apathetic, "That's nice." But, when they have a chance to see it in person, they quickly develop an appreciation for it. Some have then offered to bring back sand to him from their trips.

"I think it's great that people get excited about collecting sand once they see this display, but I politely do not to accept the offer because I must visit the beach and scoop the sand myself."

While he's more well-travelled than many, he said he'd still like to visit places like New Zealand and the full coast of Brazil, in addition to Easter Island and the Galapagos Islands just to name a few.

"There are so many more places to see, and I look forward to adding to the collection," he said. Until then, they'll keep showing off their collection to interested friends, and when it's time to pack for the next assignment, they'll call on a few of them to help pack it up.

"It's quite a project," said Sol, in reference to packing the sand properly for transport. "We've figured out a great system with the help of friends, otherwise it would take me about eight hours alone to do. We're pretty careful with this collection because it's so meaningful to us, and we hope there's no earthquake while we're here ... that would be awful!"

Sol added that the kids have jokingly asked "who gets the sand collection" when he "passes on." Hopefully that won't happen for a long time. Meanwhile, the colonel said he hopes it inspires his own children, and others, to keep exploring and appreciating the world around them.