They are eyes in the sky for Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officers on the ground.
But Air Unit officers Steve Vaughan and Steve
Strickland’s helicopter hovered close to the deck recently when both had
to hit the water to rescue people in two separate incidents.
The heroism earned Vaughan the Medal of Merit and Strickland the Medal of Valor for their May 26 mission during Tropical Storm Beryl. And on Nov. 29, Vaughan received a second medal after a July 23 rescue of a woman in the Intracoastal Waterway.
In presenting the first medals, Undersheriff Dwain Senterfitt said the men acted with no regard for their own safety.
“We were placed there that day … and we did what we
were trained to do without even thinking about it,” said Vaughan, a
veteran pilot. “... It is what our job is and we get a lot of
gratification out of doing things like that.”
Strickland said he would “absolutely without any hesitation” leap again.
The first call came May 26 about people pulled out to
sea by rip currents off Little Talbot Island State Park. Vaughan and
Strickland flew there only to hear that fire department rescue workers
had everyone. Then they saw a man being pounded by waves.
“One of the waves hit him and he just rag-dolled. Whatever position the wave put him in, he stayed there,” Strickland said.
Strickland threw a life preserver down but he didn’t
move. Then rescuers got the man about 300 yards out to sea. That’s when
the officers saw a second man 75 yards further out. Vaughan hovered
about 4 feet over the waves as Strickland jumped.
“We knew the situation was as bad as we were going to let it get and we were in a position to help,” Strickland said.
In high waves Strickland pulled the man toward the beach as Vaughan hovered over him. All survived.
The second incident was July 23 when Vaughan and police
pilot Jimmy Britt heard the call about a woman screaming for help in
the Intracoastal Waterway. Flying in near the 13000 block of Atlantic
Boulevard minutes later, they saw her. Britt hovered about 5 feet off
the water and Vaughan jumped in.
“It became really clear to me very fast how grave it
really was because the woman was clearly struggling,” Vaughan said. “It
was amazing that she didn’t drown before we got there. ... She became
very combative. She was struggling and fighting for her life.”
Two Atlantic Beach police officers pulled up in a partially inflated dingy and hauled her aboard before towing Vaughan to shore.
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