Christopher D'Amelio was born and raised in Aptos, California. At the age of nineteen he joined the United States Coast Guard. As a member of the Coast Guard, he quickly achieved the rate of Boatswain's Mate working in stations and on boats up and down the Pacific Coast, from Alaska to South America. In 1998 he was assigned to Cape Disappointment in Ilwaco, Washington. During his tenure at Station Cape Disappointment, he amassed over 2,200 hours of underway time, routinely operating on the Columbia River Bar, where he earned a reputation as one of the most skilled boat handlers in the Coast Guard. He has worked on and supervised over 430 search-and-rescue cases. He has received five commendation medals, two achievement medals, two letters of commendation, and the highly coveted Association for Rescue at Sea Gold Medal. He retired as a Chief Warrant Officer at Station New Orleans. He currently lives in Slidell, Louisiana, with his wife and two of his three children.