Rear Adm. Dave Callahan, 8th Coast Guard District commander, presents the Gold Lifesaving Medal to the family of retired Marine Corps Master Sgt. Rodney Buentello July 31, 2017, in San Antonio. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Grant DeVuyst.
SAN ANTONIO — The family of Marine Corps Master Sgt. Rodney Lee Buentello accepted the Gold Lifesaving Medal from Rear Adm. Dave Callahan, the 8th Coast Guard District commander, Monday in San Antonio.
The ceremony was held moments before the start of the Rodney Lee Buentello Memorial Golf Tournament.
The medal honors Buentello’s heroic actions in saving the lives of two teenagers from the rushing waters of the Medina River on the afternoon of June 8, 2016.
The Gold Lifesaving Medal is one of the United States’ oldest medals. It was created by Act of Congress in 1874 and may be awarded to an individual who performs a rescue or attempts to rescue any other person from drowning, shipwreck or other peril of water, at the risk of his or her own life, and demonstrates extreme and heroic daring.
