If I ever find myself in deadly peril, looking up and seeing one of those Coast Guard search & rescue helicopters would definitely be a day-brightener.
In this case it sounds as if young Mr. Ruskin used brains more than physical prowess to do what had to be done. A New York Post Exclusive, July 6:
New Jersey native on first rescue mission with Coast Guard helps save 165 Texas flood victims: ‘American hero’
A Coast Guard rescue swimmer is already being hailed as an “American hero” after his very first mission — helping to save the lives of 165 Texas flash-flood victims.
“This is what it’s all about, right? Like, this is why we do the job,” said Scott Ruskan, 26, a New Jersey native and former KPMG accountant, to The Post after his work in central Texas.
“This is why we take those risks all time. This is why like Coast Guard men and women, are risking their lives every day,” said Petty Officer Ruskan — who was in charge of triage at Camp Mystic, the Christian girls’ summer camp that saw some of the worst of the flooding.
Raised in Oxford, NJ, Ruskan enlisted in the US Coast Guard in 2021, and after completing basic training, went to Aviation Survival Technician school in Petaluma, Calif., before being stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas.
He had been on call since November after completing all of his training, familiarizing himself with the Coast Guard’s iconic MH-65 helicopter and enrolling in additional rescue swimming classes as he waited to be called into action.
That fateful call came on the Fourth of July as a massive summer rainstorm led to catastrophic flash flooding in the Lone Star State that has so far claimed at least 80 lives.
Bryan Winchell, a helicopter search and rescue technician with Texas Task Force 1 — a joint partnership between the Texas Army National Guard and the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service — called the Coast Guard looking to get boots on the ground and in the air for an emergency rapid response near central Texas.
“That’s a little bit outside our area of operation normally, but people were in danger, and we’re a good asset to try and help people out, and these guys were asking for help, so that’s kind of what we do,” Ruskan said....
....MUCH MORE
