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1,000,000+ Rescues for Coast Guard
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[August 04, 2007]
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Everyone knows the Coast Guard has saved countless lives in U.S. waters. Now they've gone back and counted: more than 1 million rescues from the days of wooden sailing vessels to the current era of swooping high-tech helicopters.
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After reviewing old log books and records dating back nearly to 1790, when Congress created the 10-boat fleet that would eventually become the Coast Guard, the agency concluded that it has saved at least 1,109,310 lives.
The Coast Guard is touting its exploits to mark its 217th birthday on Saturday
- at a time when it comes under increasing criticism from lawmakers who charge its marine safety work has weakened as it takes on greater anti-terrorism responsibilities.
Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen said the agency can handle both responsibilities because it has "the same commitment to saving lives that it did more than 200 years ago."
Back then, rescuers would use a small cannon to fire what was essentially a giant clothesline toward the masts of stranded ships. Attached to the line: a bulky pair of canvas pants, which desperate sailors would climb into and be hauled ashore.
The technology has changed, but a lifeline is still critical to the work.
Just last Friday night, rescue swimmer Matthew Laub was part of a four-man Coast Guard helicopter crew that fought heavy surf in a nighttime rescue off the Maryland coast.
"The waves were just smashing the boat over on its side, and one of the men had muscular dystrophy so there was no way they could swim ashore," said the 25-year-old.
One by one, Laub guided the men to a rescue basket dangling from the helicopter. At one point, waves knocked one of the men out of the basket, and nearly rolled the sailboat.
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 "I caught a lucky break," said Laub. "By the time it was over, I wasn't that tired, but I felt pretty sick. You swallow a lot of sea water doing that."
The million rescues are not without controversy. Included in the tally are migrant interdictions, such as when Haitians trying to get to U.S. shores are taken back to their home country. Coast Guard officials say those are still lifesaving efforts because many of the vessels used in such attempts are unsafe or dangerously overcrowded.
In response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the agency rescued more than 33,000 people. But the single largest rescue effort in Coast Guard history was back in 1937, when a flood on the Mississippi River led to the rescue of nearly 44,000 people
- and 112,000 head of livestock.
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On the Net:
Video of "top 10" Coast Guard rescues: http://youtube.com/watch?vLfkHTcqOZOU
[Associated Press;
By DEVLIN BARRETT]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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