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Office of Public Affairs |
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| News Release |
Date: Nov. 11, 2009 |
Coast Guardsmen honored at Station Tillamook Bay, Ore. |
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ASTORIA, Ore. - Ron Valiquette reads an account of his rescue by Coast Guardsmen from Station Tillamook Bay, Ore., during a memorial dedication ceremony Nov. 11, 2009, at Station Tillamook Bay. Valiquette honored recipients of the Coast Guard Medal from the Pacific Northwest with a memorial obelisk at Station Tillamook Bay 29 years after two smallboat crews from the station rescued him and his four crewmembers from Hurricane Celia in 1980. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Shawn Eggert. ASTORIA, Ore. - Ron Valiquette introduces Coast Guard Medal recipients Machinery Technician Third Class Ken Foshaug, Ret., Reserve Seaman Richard Koplan, Ret., Master Chief Bill Michael, Ret., and Master Chief Richard Harshfield, Ret., during a memorial dedication ceremony Nov. 11, 2009, at Station Tillamook Bay, Ore. Valiquette honored recipients of the Coast Guard Medal from the Pacific Northwest with a memorial obelisk at Station Tillamook Bay 29 years after two smallboat crews from the station rescued him and his four crewmembers from Hurricane Celia in 1980. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Shawn Eggert. ASTORIA, Ore. - Ron Valiquette hugs Coast Guard Medal recipient Master Chief Richard Harshfield, Ret., during a memorial dedication ceremony Nov. 11, 2009, at Station Tillamook Bay, Ore. Marshfield and 10 other Coast Guardsmen from Station Tillamook Bay recieved the Coast Guard Medal after they rescued Valiquette and his four crewmembers from Hurricane Celia in 1980. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Shawn Eggert. ASTORIA, Ore. — Coast Guard Medal recipients from the Pacific Northwest were honored during a memorial ceremony at Station Tillamook Bay, Ore., in Garibaldi, Ore., Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. Ron Valiquette, of Anacortes, Wash., donated a stone obelick displaying the names of Coast Guard Medal recipients from the Pacific Northwest which included the names of the 11 Coast Guard members from Station Tillamook Bay who saved the lives of him and the four crewmembers aboard his boat during Hurricane Celia in 1980. Machinery Technician Third Class Ken Foshaug, Ret., Reserve Seaman Richard Koplan, Ret., Master Chief Bill Michael, Ret., and Master Chief Richard Harshfield, Ret., four of the men named on the obelisk, were present for the ceremony. Michael and Harshfield were two of the men who took part in Valiquette's rescue, and Valiquette spoke of their efforts that night. "If it weren't for what these men did, my head would be under one of these," said Villaquette as he gestured at the stone obelisk. "The members of the United States Coast Guard are true heroes." The Coast Guard Medal is one of the highest awards given by the Coast Guard and is reserved for Coast Guard members who perform exemplary service in the act of saving lives at great personal risk. |
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