Vice President Joe Biden Was Once Lifeguard Joe Biden
Monday, the Delaware swimming pool where the former VP lifeguarded in 1962 was renamed for him.
Djordje Kojadinovic/Reuters
Joe Biden has returned to his post. Lifeguard post, that is.
Monday, the swimming pool the former vice president worked for in 1962 was dedicated to him in Winchester, Delaware.
The facility will be renamed the Joseph R. Biden Sr. Aquatic Center.
“It’s not the Medal of Freedom, but for people around here, it means every bit as much, if not more,” said Delaware Mayor Mike Purzycki, who went to college with Biden.
“I’ve received a lot of wonderful honors all my career,” Biden told the crowd during his dedication speech. “The greatest honor was serving you for so long.”
In the summer of 1962, Biden was the only white lifeguard at the Brown-Burton-Winchester Park pool, according to The News Journal.
"I wanted to get more involved. I'd turn on the television and see and listen to Dr. (Martin Luther) King, but I didn't know any black people,” Biden remarked.
“I wanted to work here. I owe you all. I owe this neighborhood. I learned so, so, so much.”
“I can’t think of a better way to honor our Joe,” Delaware Governor John Carney said at the ceremony. “I’m sure there are other things we name after Joe… but I’ll bet you there won’t be anything more important to him and the young people of our state… than to know Joe’s commitments to civil rights started here.”
Congressman Lisa Blunt Rochester quipped: “He was ‘staying woke’ before the millennials.”
Biden finished his speech by saying: “You’ve always had my back. The neighborhood’s always had my back. And God willing, I’ve always had your back, and I’ll always have it as long as I’m around.”