Houston native wins
Coast Guard award for heroism
By PA3 Jonathan McCool, Eighth District Public Affairs
Even though a stiff breeze buffeted the coast, the summer sun was hot on the beach. There was confusion among the beachgoers. Dozens pointed out into the heavy surf, trying to see what was happening. Someone was in trouble out in the waves. In the crowd, two Coast Guard petty officers heaved ‘round on a thin nylon rope leading out into the Gulf of Mexico. On the other end of the line, a Coast Guard fireman struggled to hold the line. Suddenly, the line went slack.
Lt. Patrick C. Schrieber, the commanding officer of Coast Guard Station South Padre Island, Texas, said it was the selflessness of Fireman Robert E. Brown III that day that earned him a nomination for a Coast Guard Foundation Award for Heroism Oct. 16 in New York.
Brown received the award at the 23rd annual Salute to the Coast Guard, a dinner and awards ceremony held by the Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit group that helps Coast Guard families. The foundation selected him for saving seven people at Isla Blanka Park on South Padre Island, Texas, within a span of four hours June 12, 2002.
Brown was part of the station’s duty crew that morning - ready for anything from helping disabled boaters to chasing down drug smugglers.
A large sign posted at the park warns swimmers, in English and in Spanish, of the severity of the surf conditions with a color-coded flag. A red flag flew that day, indicating a high possibility of a dangerous rip current.
The beaches of South Padre Island have some of the worst rip currents in the country, said Brown’s supervisor, Petty Officer 1st Class Tim E. Krantz.
Despite the warnings, it remains a popular place for swimming.
It was before 8 a.m. when a call came in to the Coast Guard that someone needed help at the park. A crew was immediately dispatched to the scene in one of the station’s boats. Brown and two others, Petty Officer 3rd Class Terry D. Bailey and Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael N. Schiltz, drove to the park to provide any assistance needed.
A 12-year-old girl was caught out past the sand bars 100 yards from shore and being pulled out to sea. She was too close to the sand bars for the boatcrew to rescue her, so it was up to Brown, the designated rescue swimmer for that duty section.
Brown went into the water with a torpedo buoy, a flotation device designed for this kind of rescue, tethered to Bailey and Schiltz by a thin nylon rope.
After her rescue, she was turned over to emergency medical technicians, and the three men returned to the station. An hour later, in almost exactly the same place, Brown was back in the water assisting others.
This time, when Brown swam past the sand bar, he found three young men trying franticly to keep their heads above water 150 yards from shore. He swam to each of them, allowing them to grab hold of the torpedo buoy. His two shipmates on shore began pulling them to safety. But the weight of the three men and the tumultuous waves started pulling Brown under, and he was forced to unclip himself from the safety line.
Brown swam back to shore, towing the three men under his own power.
After the arduous swim, Brown heard there were others in peril.
“I guess the other three guys went out there to try and help,” said Brown, modestly recalling the events.
Without hesitation, he hopped on a bystander’s body board and tore off into the water. This time, though, he went without the safety of the rescue line. The others could only wait and see as, one by one, he swam to three more swimmers.
What set Brown apart that day is that he rescued seven people in a short stretch of time, demonstrating superior devotion to duty, he said.
“He saw a need for quick action,” said Schrieber.
Krantz said Brown was exhausted when he got back to shore.
“Seven people is a lot. He couldn’t move for ten minutes after he got back,” said Krantz.
Brown, the son of Robert E. Brown II and Barbara Brown of Houston, plans to make a career of the Coast Guard as a machinery technician. He looks forward to a promotion to petty officer 3rd class in the coming months.
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