The Adventures of Onyx and The Angels in the Air

Onyx and the Guardians of the Straits are back in another exciting adventure!  During routine helicopter operations with Air Station Traverse City, the Coast Guard is suddenly called to rescue a mother and daughter stranded in Lake Michigan.

When the crew spots the capsized sailboat, the Coast Guard rescue swimmer wastes no time.  The mother needs immediate medical attention and the little girl is scared, but the rescue swimmer can only bring up one survivor at a time.  He has to make a difficult decision.  But he is not alone.  Onyx the miracle dog proves that being a true Coastie is as much about heart as it is about bravery.

Tyler Benson

Tyler Benson is from St. Louis, Michigan.  He has served in the United States Coast Guard for more than 18 years.  He began writing short stories about his search and rescue adventures in the Coast Guard to educate his three young daughters about what Daddy does when he goes on duty for 48 hours at a time.  He wanted his daughters to learn the importance of service to their country and helping those in need.  To help his daughters better understand his job, Tyler wrote the stories featuring his real station's morale dog, Onyx.  These stories soon evolved into a dream.  This dream would be a tribute and a way to bring recognition to all who serve or have served in the United States Coast Guard.  Tyler is still currently serving in the United States Coast Guard in Highlands, New Jersey, where he lives with his wife, Kristy, and four children.

David Geister

David Geister is a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based artist who specializes in historical art, picture book illustrations and landscape paintings.  He has illustrated over a dozen children's books including, The Adventures of Onyx series, B is for Battlecry, and Surviving the Hindenburg, to name a few.