Extreme Bravery
On this day at Rideau Hall, Governor-General Michaelle Jean was pleased to confer Canada's Star of Courage in recognition of "acts of conspicuous courage in circumstances of great peril", to an American U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer. What this man, Drew Dazzo, and his flying partner in their Coast Guard H60 Jayhawk helicopter did - flying 150 metres above three sailors whose 44-ft sailboat had capsized in sub-tropical storm Andrea off the coast of North Carolina - was a miracle of a rescue.
The sea below the helicopter was a raging maelstrom with gale-force winds gusting close to 150 kilometres an hour, turning the Atlantic Ocean into a sailor's nightmare. The three capsized sailors had been in the water for eight hours clinging to what was left of their life-raft in May of 2007. The men had long since given up hope that they would survive their ordeal, and then suddenly, above them was a red-and-white Coast Guard helicopter.
While flight mechanic Petty Officer Scott Higgins was at the controls of the whirlybird, his partner, (second class) Petty Officer Drew Dazzo prepared himself for an Herculean effort that he wasn't certain would result in the rescue they hoped to accomplish. Within the period of an anguished half-hour Scott Higgins had lowered had raised his partner Drew Dazzo from the helicopter to the raging seas below enough times to effect the rescue.
The three men ,whose lives were in imminent peril; 62-year-old Rudy Snel of Ottawa, Jean Pierre de Lutz, a 58-year-old Frenchman, and Britisher Ben Tye, 31 years of age, had finally been lifted aboard the helicopter, soaked and violently shivering. Lowered into raging seas at the end of 30 to 40 metres of cable and tossed about by violent winds there was no guarantee that the rescuer would not himself lose his life.
But he managed to get one man after another into the metal basket, and to haul them to safety into the helicopter. Between each rescue, the raft the men were on drifted further and further away. "It was extremely dangerous. It scared me that we'd made a bad mistake. I thought, what was I going to tell his wife?" said Petty Officer Higgins, fearing his partner would be knocked unconscious by one of the huge waves.
"There wasn't any fear in my mind, I was all pumped up on adrenaline. But I said to myself, 'Man, are we going to be able to do this?' At one point I couldn't see the helicopter on the horizon. That's how big the waves were. I just didn't know if we were going to get the other two guys and myself out", reminisced Petty Officer Dazzo. But they did, and then it was time to hoist him out of danger and into the hovering aircraft.
Just as Petty Officer Dazzo began to slip the collar of the lowered cable under his legs a huge wave hit, twisting him into a violent spasm. "I honestly thought he'd broke his back", the pilot said, explaining that when they later inspected the cable they found that 15 of its strands had snapped. When the diver was finally hauled to safety, in pain from his wrenched back, exhausted from his superhuman efforts and vomiting seawater, the ordeal was almost over.
The three rescued sailors were taken immediately to hospital, and so was the rescue swimmer. "That was a once-in-a-career rescue. One's enough for me", said Dazzo. His heroism urgently required official recognition in gratitude for courage beyond the call of duty.
The sea below the helicopter was a raging maelstrom with gale-force winds gusting close to 150 kilometres an hour, turning the Atlantic Ocean into a sailor's nightmare. The three capsized sailors had been in the water for eight hours clinging to what was left of their life-raft in May of 2007. The men had long since given up hope that they would survive their ordeal, and then suddenly, above them was a red-and-white Coast Guard helicopter.
While flight mechanic Petty Officer Scott Higgins was at the controls of the whirlybird, his partner, (second class) Petty Officer Drew Dazzo prepared himself for an Herculean effort that he wasn't certain would result in the rescue they hoped to accomplish. Within the period of an anguished half-hour Scott Higgins had lowered had raised his partner Drew Dazzo from the helicopter to the raging seas below enough times to effect the rescue.
The three men ,whose lives were in imminent peril; 62-year-old Rudy Snel of Ottawa, Jean Pierre de Lutz, a 58-year-old Frenchman, and Britisher Ben Tye, 31 years of age, had finally been lifted aboard the helicopter, soaked and violently shivering. Lowered into raging seas at the end of 30 to 40 metres of cable and tossed about by violent winds there was no guarantee that the rescuer would not himself lose his life.
But he managed to get one man after another into the metal basket, and to haul them to safety into the helicopter. Between each rescue, the raft the men were on drifted further and further away. "It was extremely dangerous. It scared me that we'd made a bad mistake. I thought, what was I going to tell his wife?" said Petty Officer Higgins, fearing his partner would be knocked unconscious by one of the huge waves.
"There wasn't any fear in my mind, I was all pumped up on adrenaline. But I said to myself, 'Man, are we going to be able to do this?' At one point I couldn't see the helicopter on the horizon. That's how big the waves were. I just didn't know if we were going to get the other two guys and myself out", reminisced Petty Officer Dazzo. But they did, and then it was time to hoist him out of danger and into the hovering aircraft.
Just as Petty Officer Dazzo began to slip the collar of the lowered cable under his legs a huge wave hit, twisting him into a violent spasm. "I honestly thought he'd broke his back", the pilot said, explaining that when they later inspected the cable they found that 15 of its strands had snapped. When the diver was finally hauled to safety, in pain from his wrenched back, exhausted from his superhuman efforts and vomiting seawater, the ordeal was almost over.
The three rescued sailors were taken immediately to hospital, and so was the rescue swimmer. "That was a once-in-a-career rescue. One's enough for me", said Dazzo. His heroism urgently required official recognition in gratitude for courage beyond the call of duty.
Labels: Canada, Heros and Villains, Human Relations
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