Just a regular guy, doing his Navy job

The ladies throng to him wherever he goes, and really, who could blame them?

Lt. Andy Baldwin is an undersea medical officer, ironman triathlete and Navy diver. He has piercing blue eyes, a smile that won't quit and a trim physique, with shirtless photographs on numerous Internet blogs.

Not to mention, he starred in the 10th season of "The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman" on ABC. The season's finale aired in May 2007.

"It's flattering," the 31-year-old Baldwin said about the attention. "The most common thing I hear is, 'Andy, you are just like a normal person.' Yes, I am. I'm a regular human being who eats, sleeps and works like anyone else."

Since arriving Sunday night in Yakima, Baldwin has spoken about his experiences with the Navy at a recruitment station in the Valley Mall and at a Southwest Rotary Club meeting. He also took part in orientation activities at the new Pacific Northwest University in Yakima.

Girlfriend Tessa Horst broke up with him last spring, leaving Baldwin newly single and "fully focusing on work." Part of that includes military missions in Laos, where he's treated more than 600 Laotians in remote mountain villages.

"It changed my life," he said, referring to the children with lice, rashes and other ailments who sought his help. "They were so thankful, so wide-eyed when they saw an iPod. ... It was rough living, but it was true living."

He also took part in a humanitarian mission to recover the remains of nine World War II crewmen who were shot down Sept. 1, 1945, over Palau.

"It really hits you," he said about dog tags, a wristwatch and bones found in the underwater wreckage. "It was like a time capsule."

Baldwin now lives in Washington, D.C., where he's working as a Navy medicine advocate at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. He plans on spending the next year motivating and inspiring people, letting them know that anything is possible.

As for himself, he hasn't given up hope of marrying and having children of his own -- some day.

"It's not something you can force; it just happens," he said. "My brother says it will hit you when you least expect it, and you'll know."

* Erin Snelgrove can be reached at 577-7684 or esnelgrove@yakimaherald.com.

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