beatkp
10-Year Member
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2007
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- 92
From the USCGA alumni newsletter:
Friday, February 15, 2008
The Weather Channel's "When Weather Changed History" will feature the history of the Coast Guard's rescue swimmer program on Sunday, February 24th (check your local listings for exact times).
The story begins with the Marine Electric tragedy. If you recall, on February, 11, 1983, just off the Virginia coast, the Marine Electric ship journeyed to Massachusetts with 27,000 tons of coal. As a blizzard swept offshore, gale-force winds capsized the coal ship, leaving only a few crewmembers alive. The Congressional inquiry into the tragedy helped establish the Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer program. The program’s success and the Marine Electric’s legacy became apparent in 2005 when Coast Guard helicopter teams rescue Hurricane Katrina survivors.
The program features interviews with active and retired rescue swimmers as well as our own Martha LaGuardia, author of So Others may Live: Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers Saving Lives, Defying Death
Friday, February 15, 2008
The Weather Channel's "When Weather Changed History" will feature the history of the Coast Guard's rescue swimmer program on Sunday, February 24th (check your local listings for exact times).
The story begins with the Marine Electric tragedy. If you recall, on February, 11, 1983, just off the Virginia coast, the Marine Electric ship journeyed to Massachusetts with 27,000 tons of coal. As a blizzard swept offshore, gale-force winds capsized the coal ship, leaving only a few crewmembers alive. The Congressional inquiry into the tragedy helped establish the Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer program. The program’s success and the Marine Electric’s legacy became apparent in 2005 when Coast Guard helicopter teams rescue Hurricane Katrina survivors.
The program features interviews with active and retired rescue swimmers as well as our own Martha LaGuardia, author of So Others may Live: Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers Saving Lives, Defying Death
