The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) formally recognized the crew of an education vessel at a ceremony Wednesday at Coast Guard Air Station Detroit, located at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich., for saving two people when they responded to a mayday call in the Detroit River on Aug. 11, 2013.
During the ceremony, Capt. Jeff Ogden, commander of Coast Guard Sector Detroit, presented Norman Raymond, Stephen Stewart and Elizabeth Nebei with the Captain David P. Dobbins Award for excellence in search and rescue. Patrick Livingston and Jenna Roy also earned the award but were unable to attend the ceremony.
While operating the education vessel, the Clinton, Raymond responded to a mayday call by the Canadian Coast Guard reporting two people in the water in the Detroit River.
The crew found a personal watercraft running but unmanned on the river and began searching for the two missing people.
They found the father and son clinging to a buoy nearby. The crew brought the son aboard the Clinton, while a Canadian Coast Guard vessel rescued the father.
Raymond attributes his search and rescue skills to being an active member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, in which he is a coxswain and commander of Division 20, 9th District Central Region.
The Dobbins Award is presented by the Coast Guard in recognition of outstanding action accomplished while conducting a search and rescue mission on the Great Lakes. Dobbins was appointed the first superintendent of the U.S. Lifesaving Service of the Great Lakes in 1876. He distinguished himself by performing and organizing numerous heroic rescues during his career. In memory of his heritage, initiative and dedication, the award is presented to individuals who perform distinguished search and rescue acts on the Great Lakes.
uscgnews.com