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HOUSTON, TX – AUGUST 28: A Coast Guard helicopter hoists a wheel chair on board after lifting a person to safety from the area that was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on August 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days. (Photo by Joe Raedle\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n No way I could let this story pass- you all know my SAR Helo background- and the Coasties have world-class rescue crews.\u00a0 This is an amazing saga of that capability.<\/p>\n By: Shawn Snow<\/strong><\/p>\n He swam at night through 80 knot winds, ripped through a roof without the aid of a chainsaw and was repeatedly hoisted more than 100 feet into the air while battling turbulence and dangerous power lines around him as he aided in the rescue of 59 others in Houston, Texas, as Hurricane Harvey battered the area in August 2017.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n For his heroic feats during Harvey, Petty Officer 3rd Class Tyler Gantt, a Coast Guard aviation survival technician, or rescue swimmer, was awarded the\u00a0Distinguished Flying Cross<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 the U.S. military\u2019s oldest aviation award for heroism in flight \u2014 during a ceremony in December at the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Alabama.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n His exploits in the rescue of 59 were detailed in award citation the Coast Guard posted in a\u00a0news release<\/a>. Two others, Coast Guard Cmdr. Scott Sanborn and Lt. John Briggs also were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for their heroism in response to Hurricane Harvey, a news release detailed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Operating aboard a\u00a0MH-65D\u00a0<\/a>Coast Guard helciopter, Gantt was deployed to Houston for rescue operations following flooding as a result of Hurricane Harvey.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gantt was launched \u201cinto an unfamiliar operating area at night with winds gusting over 80 knots, visibility below 50 feet and torrential rain to respond to a critically-ill pregnant woman trapped by rising waters in her attic,\u201d the award citation reads.<\/p>\n While dealing with \u201csevere turbulence,” Gannt was hoisted multiple times \u201cthrough a small opening between active power lines to search for and triage the ill woman,\u201d the citation detailed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n In another rescue, \u201cGantt dove from the roof into the swift-moving water to grab an infant who was swept away from his father,\u201d according to the citation.<\/p>\n Gantt \u201cthen located additional survivors signaling from a home being quickly engulfed by the flood waters. Without the use of a chainsaw, he tore through the roof to extract and hoist the seven people to safety before water overtook the home,\u201d the award citation reads.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n During the ceremony two additional DFCs were awarded\u00a0 to Helo pilots, and a Flight Mechanic received an Air Medal for their heroism during the relief efforts. Read the entire article here: Military Times<\/a><\/p>\n Bravo Zulu!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n\n
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