Medal of Valor
The highest lifeguard award presented by CSLSA/USLA is the Medal of Valor. The primary purpose for creating this award is to give due recognition to an individual lifeguard who voluntarily risked their life, to an extraordinary degree, in saving, or attempting to save another person, or who sacrificed themselves for the benefit of others.2024 Medal of Valor Recipient:
- Ben Coffee & Xander Mehl - Santa Cruz Fire Department
On December 23rd, 2024 at 12:45pm Santa Cruz Lifeguard Lieutenant Ben Coffey and LG1 Xander Mehl were patrolling on their Rescue Water Craft in the area of West Cliff Drive and Mitchells Cove when they were dispatched to the Santa Cruz wharf which had collapsed with reported victims in the area. As they were about to respond to the wharf they noticed two surfers caught on the inside with 25-30’ waves beginning to break up the point. This set was a whole category bigger than the 15-20’ waves these surfers had been chasing. In this area half of the shoreline is covered by sheer cliff face while the other half is riprap rocks, an area referred to by the locals as “death rocks”. The waves began to stretch from the top of the point across to Steamer Lane, a half mile away.
Ben and Xander knew the surfers were now in an extremely dangerous situation due to their slow paddle progress and size of the set that could push them into the rocks and certain peril. They made the decision to rescue the surfers before responding to the wharf.
They assisted the first surfer two hundred yards out past the impact zone into the channel before returning for the second surfer.
As they got the second surfer on the sled the set began to close out on them, blocking their path to the safe water outside. There were two witnesses to this rescue, watching from the top of West Cliff Drive. One wrote in a newspaper article, “From our elevated position, I could tell the driver was in trouble before he could. The next wave was mammoth and already feathering – its face many times higher than the jet ski and its riders. It was a rogue wave that for some reason is doubled up and rises out of proportion to the set it is in. It was going to break across the entire stretch of that coast, from outside Mitchell’s possibly all the way to the lighthouse.”
With no beach to land on and no way to punch through the wave they were trapped. The witness writes, “His decision was instantaneous. He turned down into the trough between the two waves. He made a left turn at the bottom. Taking a parallel track with the wave lines, he began a white-knuckle race to outrun the wave. His only choice was to outrun the wave before it broke on them or before it ran them aground.”
“The surfer’s legs and surfboard hammered the air and water behind him. Then, the board spun out high into the air as the leash snapped. I can’t imagine how he held on.”
As the space between the wave and the cliff narrowed they were able to make it to the point at Steamer Lane and find a channel deep enough to get over the wave and the rest of the set. They dropped the surfer on Cowells Beach and then proceeded to assist with the wharf collapse rescue. For their heroic actions, Ben Coffee and Xander Mehl are awarded the California Surf Lifesaving Association and United States Lifesaving Association's Medal of Valor.2024 Medal of Valor Recipient:
Aaron Fletcher, Devon Beebe & Chris Terhune - Long Beach Marine Safety/Long Beach Fir
At 9:10pm on July 3rd, 2024 Long Beach Rescue Boat 1 received a report of a 48’ sport fisher, Four Kings, with 10 people on board that drove into the Alamitos Bay Channel jetty and was taking on water. At the time of the impact four victims were up on the flybridge. Two of those victims were thrown forward into a seating bench. Two more were thrown into the console area, both knocked unconscious. Downstairs in the salon, the tables had become dislodged from their places by the impact and by the bodies that were thrown forward into them. Six victims reported crawling out from beneath the tables.
RB1 arrived on scene to find one person standing on the bow, exclaiming there was one victim still up in the flybridge. There was loud music and alarms sounding from the vessel. Eight injured survivors were found on the rocks. The vessel was actively sinking and pitching and rolling in the swell. RB1 Captain Aaron Fletcher, Fire Captain Paramedic Chris Terhune, and Marine Safety Officer Devon Beebe went to work triaging survivors.
Aaron dropped Chris off on the rocks to initiate patient care and request an MCI. Devon donned her wetsuit and boarded the Four Kings which was now underwater almost to the bow gunwales with water swamping the interior and stern deck. She assisted the victim on the bow to the safety of the rocks below then climbed the ladder to the flybridge.
Atop the flybridge, which was covered in blood, she found an unconscious adult male victim with a penetrating face injury. She attempted to move the victim to a flat surface but was unable given his weight and size. Devon yelled in an attempt to provide an update and request assistance, but her message was not received due to the loud music and tasks of the other rescuers. She climbed back down and brought Chris back with her. Together they moved the victim and placed AED pads on the patient. The monitor read asystole and it was determined the victim was DOA.
Devon and Chris returned to the victims on the rocks to continue care to a multitude of injuries including facial fractures, a collapsed lung, broken bones and contusions.
Next the lines that held the boat to the rocks parted causing the sinking boat to list severely with the flybridge and deceased victim now in the water. Devon swam into the flybridge, which was now underwater, to retrieve the body. With lighting assistance from RB1 she was able to locate the body a few feet below the surface and swim him toward RB1. Devon and Aaron got the body up onto the swim step and then onto the stern deck of the rescue boat. In total three patients were ambulatory and the other six were transported to the hospital.
For their heroic actions, Aaron Fletcher and Devon Beebe are awarded the California Surf Lifesaving Association and United States Lifesaving Association's Medal of Valor. Chris Terhune is awarded the California Surf Lifesaving Association's Public Safety Medal of Valor and the United States Lifeguard Association's Heroic Act Award.
2024 Medal of Valor Recipient:
- Brendan Daly - Santa Cruz
On Tuesday, July 10th 2024, at 6:15pm a 911 distress call was received for a confirmed water rescue for two On Tuesday, July 10th 2024, at 6:15pm a 911 distress call was received for a confirmed water rescue for two victims who were swept off the rocks by a strong south swell into the ocean in a rocky area off West Cliff Drive, known by the lifeguards who train there regularly as “Death Rocks”. Marine Safety Officer Brendan Daly of the Santa Cruz Fire Department – Marine Safety Division responded code 3 to the dispatched location. Daly arrived on scene and entered the water solo. Despite injuring himself during the rocky entry, Daly was able to locate both victims, a male and a pregnant female, found to be unresponsive. He secured the first in his rescue tube and floated the other on his chest with both victim’s airways out of the water. Thinking forward to extrication, Daly began swimming the two victims up the coast, against the current, toward the only available beach exit. When LGII Carter Baginski arrived on scene, Daly signaled for assistance. Baginski entered the water and assumed guardianship of one of the victims. Both lifeguards began swimming north, against the strong current and wind. With limited options to safely extract the victims along the coastline, the team decided the safest approach was to quickly bring the victims out to sea, to meet the Harbor Patrol boat, a long swim in deeper water. They knew the boat could serve as a platform to begin medical lifesaving efforts. Rescue swimmers Nathan Rodger and Dave Bodine from Santa Cruz City Fire Department then arrived on scene and paddled out to assist. The team lifted the victims onboard the Harbor Patrol boat and began CPR while in route back to the harbor. CPR was continued for an hour in an attempt to resuscitate the victims. For his heroic lifesaving actions, Brendan Daly is hereby awarded the California Surf Lifesaving Association's Medal of Valor.
CSLSA/USLA Lifeguard Medal of Valor
Recipients from California agencies
Albers, Bob 1999 San Diego, CA Bahl, John 2017 San Diego, CA Bartlett, Mike 2005 Huntington Beach, CA. Beebe, Devon 2024 Long Beach, CA Belden, Andrew 2022 Newport Beach, CA Beuerlein, Mike 1989 Huntington Beach, CA Blackford, Matt 2010 Newport Beach, CA Borland, Tim 2003 Port San Luis Harbor District, CA Brady, Megan 2022 California State Parks, CA Brown, Mark 2012 San Diego, CA Buck, Nathaniel 2009 California State Parks, CA Carlson, Ben (posthumous) 2014 Newport Beach, CA Carter, David 1991 Cal State Parks (Russian River District) Cicchetto, Sean 1996 San Diego, CA Cleveland, Tyson 2018 Oceanside, CA Coats, Eric 2006 Cal State Parks (Lake Perris) Coffee, Ben 2024 Santa Cruz, CA Connolly, Chris 2016 Cal State Parks (Ventura) Corbo, Christian 1998 Laguna Beach, CA Culp, Casey 1998 California State Parks, CA Dhillon, Victor 2018 Oceanside, CA Feighan, Mark 2010 San Diego, CA Fellars, Timothy B. 2009 California State Parks, CA Fesler, Jeff 2003 Port San Luis Harbor District, CA Fletcher, Aaron 2024 Long Beach, CA Gherardi, Brandon 2023 Los Angeles County, CA Gitelson, Joel 2006 Los Angeles County, CA Grigsby, Scott 1994 Los Angeles County, CA Griguoli, Rich 2003 California State Parks, CA Harris, Ed 1999 San Diego, CA Helble, Andrew 2019 California State Parks, CA Higa, Brian 2012 City/County of Honolulu, HI Horn, Brit 2005 Sonoma Coast State Beach, CA Hunter, Max 2024 California State Parks, CA Ingalls, Chris 2017 San Diego, CA Kari, Brian 2018 Los Angeles County, CA Kelley, Kaipo 2018 Oceanside, CA Keulana, Brian 1996 Honolulu, HI Korber, Paul 1998 Ventura County, CA(posthumous to rescue effort) Kothlow, Erin 2022 California State Parks, CA Lagendijk, Emile 2018 Oceanside, CA Lagendijk, Marko 2018 Camp Pendleton, CA Larsen, Billy 2003 Pismo Beach, CA Liebig, Peter 2010 San Diego, CA Macko, Nick 2020 Los Angeles County, CA Mattison, Matt 2018 Oceanside, CA McDonald, Daryl 2010 San Diego, CA Mehl, Xander 2024 Santa Cruz, CA Meyer, Greg 2010 Newport Beach, CA Milligan, Joe 1989 California State Parks, CA Murphy, Timothy 1996 California State Parks, CA Northhelfer, James W. 2009 California State Parks, CA Panis, Marc 1989 Huntington Beach, CA Paun, Chris 2021 Port Hueneme, CA Pendergraft, Aaron 2016 Cal State Parks (Sonoma) Pepper, Laine 1999 San Diego, CA Quigley, Patrick 1998 Laguna Beach, CA Quigley, Patrick 1999 San Diego, CA (this is his second award) Raines, Dave 1999 San Diego, CA Rhodes, Matt 2018 Los Angeles County, CA Rhodes, Riley 2024 California State Parks, CA Snow, Kevin 1998 Laguna Beach, CA Sproull, Mark 1998 Laguna Beach, CA Stephenson, Michael 1996 California State Parks, CA Straub, Don 1991 Cal State Parks (Russian River District) Swank, Dieter 2018 Oceanside, CA Sweet, Ben 2024 California State Parks, CA Tegland, Ormand 1998 Laguna Beach, CA Trager, Tom 1998 Laguna Beach, CA Vipond, Jon 2010 San Diego, CA Wilson, David 2017 Oceanside, CA
Public Safety/Military Medal of Valor (Non-lifeguard)
The highest award for military/public-safety presented by the CSLSA/USLA is the Medal of
Valor. The primary purpose for creating this award is to give due recognition to an individual who
voluntarily risked their life, to an extraordinary degree, in saving, or attempting to save another
person, or who sacrificed themselves for the benefit of others.
| Ephron, Matthew 2018 Oceanside Police Officer |
| Terhune, Chris 2024 Long Beach Fire Captain |
| Wiese, Jonathan 2020 San Diego Police Canine Officer |
Austin Trinkle, Chairman
Special Awards & Presentations Committee
California Surf Lifesaving Association