MARQUETTE, Mich. — The Ninth Coast Guard District will present the Capt. David P. Dobbins Search and Rescue Award to a Marquette-based Coast Guard crew during a Thursday ceremony at the new Station Marquette boat maintenance facility, at 4 p.m..
Senator Debbie Stabenow and Capt. Mark Huebschman, Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, will present the award, which highlights a person or persons that exemplifies in action or deed the ethos of search-and-rescue and the can-do attitude it fosters.
The Marquette Coast Guardsmen receiving the award are:
Petty Officer 3rd Class Peter Anderson
Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Davis
Petty Officer 2nd Class Alexander Hill
Petty Officer 3rd Class Jessica Lutz
Fireman Anthony Weed
The Coast Guardsmen saved a surfer who was in need of assistance during a harsh storm near the Presque Isle, Mich., break wall. The Coast Guard crew was dispatched in a small boat, but was unable to reach the stranded surfer.
The crew utilized ice rescue techniques and came up with an innovative way of banding together to form a human chain to reach the surfer. The rescuers pulled the victim to safety by swimming 50 yards together in the icy water.
They transported the hypothermic surfer, who collapsed due to his exhaustion, with the assistance of Emergency Medical Services, to an awaiting ambulance.
“This case shows how strong the ‘Guardian Ethos’ is and will be,” said Chief Bradley K. Adams, Officer-in-Charge at Station Marquette.
