Photo Release: Rear Adm. Austin presents Gold Lifesaving Medal replicas at ceremony on Harkers Island, NC

united states coast guard 

Photo Release  

Feb. 11, 2017
U.S. Coast Guard 5th District Mid-Atlantic
Contact: 5th District Public Affairs
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Rear Adm. Austin presents Gold Lifesaving Medal replicas at ceremony on Harkers Island, NC

U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones, Jr., R-N.C., and Coast Guard Rear Adm. Meredith Austin, commander, 5th Coast Guard District, discuss details of the Feb. 9, 1905, rescue of the six-man crew from the schooner Sarah D. J. Rawson off Cape Lookout at Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center on Harkers Island, North Carolina, Feb. 11, 2017. Jones and Austin were part of a ceremony during which they presented replicas of Gold Lifesaving Medals to the descendants of the U.S. Life Saving-Servicemen who carried out the rescue. (U.S. Coast Guard Photo by Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer John D. Miller/Released)
Coast Guard Rear Adm. Meredith Austin, commander, 5th Coast Guard District, explains the significance of the Coast Guard’s Gold Lifesaving Medal to an audience at the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center on Harkers Island, North Carolina, Feb. 11, 2017. Only 275 Gold Lifesaving Medals have ever been awarded. (U.S. Coast Guard Photo by Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer John D. Miller/Released)
Retired U.S. Life-Saving Serviceman and U.S. Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer Ira Lewis shares stories of patrolling beaches during World War II with Coast Guard Lt. j.g. William O’Connor and Chief Warrant Officer Greg Gage at the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center on Harkers Island, North Carolina, Feb. 11, 2017. The men attended a ceremony during which replicas of Gold Lifesaving Medals were presented to the descendants of nine U.S. Life-Saving Servicemen who rescued six men from the schooner Sarah D. J. Rawson off Cape Lookout on Feb. 9, 1905. (U.S. Coast Guard Photo by Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer John D. Miller/Released)

Editors' Note: Click on images to download high resolution version.

HARKERS ISLAND, N.C. -- U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Meredith Austin, commander, 5th Coast Guard District, presented replicas of Gold Lifesaving Medals to descendants of U.S. Life-Saving Servicemen at the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center on Harkers Island, Feb. 11, 2017.

The replicas were presented to descendants of the nine U.S. Life-Saving Service crewmen who performed a 28-hour-long rescue of six men from the schooner Sarah D. J. Rawson off Cape Lookout on Feb. 9, 1905.

Austin, U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones, Jr., R-N.C., and local historian Jim Thompson spoke to family members and residents about the significance of the medals, of which only 275 have ever been awarded.

The U.S. government asked the U.S. Life-Saving Service crew to return their original medals during World War II to support the war effort. Thompson’s research led Jones to contact the Coast Guard to have the replicas made for their descendants.  

For more information about the 1905 rescue, click here.

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