{"id":137157,"date":"2023-02-16T09:54:31","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T14:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=137157"},"modified":"2023-02-16T09:57:09","modified_gmt":"2023-02-16T14:57:09","slug":"even-thieves-get-rescued","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/?p=137157","title":{"rendered":"Even Thieves Get Rescued"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nPO3 John “Branch” Walton, USCG<\/p>\n

Great account of SAR from the wet perspective.<\/p>\n

Coast Guard Swimmer Recounts Dramatic Rescue of Alleged Oregon Yacht Thief and \u2018Goonies\u2019 Prankster<\/h3>\n

By Aimee Green<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThey all could have got it done, but they let me go,\u201d Walton said. \u201cI was kind of in disbelief, like, \u2018Oh, is this really happening?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Unbeknownst to the 22-year-old who learned to swim only after joining the Coast Guard a few years earlier, he\u2019d soon execute a very difficult rescue seamlessly. And he would be thrust into the national limelight as millions viewed video of his first real-world rescue, taken from a camera mounted to the Coast Guard helicopter that flew him to the imperiled boater. Walton was widely lauded for his courage and agility.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until later that day that Walton and others in the Coast Guard would learn the man he\u2019d pulled from the stormy waters allegedly had stolen the $160,000 yacht and drawn the attention of Astoria police for placing a dead fish on the porch of the famous \u201cGoonies\u201d house days earlier.<\/p>\n

Two 47-foot Coast Guard boats that were being used for training nearby respond to the yacht\u2019s 10 a.m. Feb. 3 mayday call. But crew members quickly realized they couldn\u2019t attempt a rescue by boat. The seas were far too rough…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Military.com<\/a><\/p>\n

“Branch” got surfed up pretty well and still executed a textbook rescue, first time. Brings a tear to my eye. BZ, stud. <\/p>\n