Daily Sitka Sentinel

Sitka Coast Guard Crew Given Medals

By Sentinel Staff

The U.S. Coast Guard presented Air Medals to four crew members Friday for their role in the rescue of a fisherman near Meyers Chuck on Nov. 1, 2020.

In a ceremony at Air Station Sitka, Rear Adm. Nathan A. Moore, commander of Coast Guard 17th District, presented medals to Lt. Justin Neal, pilot; Lt. Jonathan Orthman, copilot; Petty Officer 2nd Class James Schwader, flight mechanic; and Petty Officer 2nd Class Grant Roberts, rescue swimmer, for saving the life of Kurt Brodersen, 70, of Myers Chuck.

“It is an honor for me to present the Air Medal to this crew who put their lives at risk and overcame extremely challenging conditions to save a life at sea,” Moore said. “I am incredibly proud of them.”    

The medals, awarded to those serving in the Armed Forces, recognize the crew’s ‘‘heroic actions and extraordinary measures taken to save the life of a lone fisherman adrift at sea.’’

Crew members pose with Rear Adm. Nathan A. Moore, commander, Coast Guard 17th District, after being presented Air Medals at Air Station Sitka, May 7. The aircrew received medals in recognition of the heroic actions taken to save the life of a fisherman adrift at sea Nov. 1, 2020. The Air Medal is awarded to individuals serving with the Armed Forces who distinguish themselves by heroic or meritorious achievement in aerial flight. Pictured are, from left, Brian McLaughlin, Justin Neal, Jon Orthman, Grant Roberts, Jimmy Schwader and Moore (Photo provided by U.S. Coast Guard)

An alarm had sounded at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 1, at Air Station Sitka after an emergency position-indicating radio beacon registered to Brodersen’s 42-foot F/V Irony had been activated in Union Bay, at the mouth of Earnest Sound, 150 miles southeast of Sitka.

As an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew launched, a low-pressure storm system was battering Southeast Alaska, the Coast Guard said. Low altitude freezing levels, total darkness and near zero visibility required the crew to almost double the normal straight line transit distance to a 265-mile transit around rugged terrain rising to 5,000 feet above the water. The increased transit length was compounded by a 70 mph headwind offshore which resulted in reduced speed, leaving the crew to focus on fuel planning with initial estimates allowing them only 15 minutes on scene. 

The crew was 115 miles into the flight when they descended to 300 feet above the water and exited the low clouds. As visibility slowly increased to two miles, the crew navigated off a low visibility route, cutting the distance to the scene by 58 miles and conserving valuable fuel.

Twelve miles from Ernest Sound, the flight crew heard the EPIRB and the copilot spotted a strobe light left of the aircraft. As the pilots carefully overflew the light to mark its position and set up an approach to the water, the rescue swimmer spotted, through the helicopter’s infrared camera, the fisherman clinging to debris.   

The rescue swimmer guided the flight mechanic’s searchlight to the survivor’s location to ensure the crew could maintain visual contact. The pilots were unable to turn the helicopter due to unrelenting winds, so the flight mechanic conned the pilots back toward Brodersen and briefed the deployment and recovery plan. In an effort to make sure the fisherman wasn’t subjected to the helicopter’s rotor wash, the rescue swimmer was deployed into the water upwind of the debris. Receiving vectors from the pilots through a hand-held radio, the rescue swimmer swam through darkness and 12-foot waves for more than 10 minutes to reach the fisherman, who was then safely hoisted into the helicopter. Once he was in the cabin, the crew confirmed no one else was aboard the sunken fishing vessel, and treated Brodersen for hypothermia on the flight to Ketchikan.

The drama wasn’t over. A citywide power outage in Ketchikan, continued low ceilings, and poor visibility led the pilots to ask the awaiting EMTs to turn on the ambulance’s lights to help them locate the small helipad along the dark shoreline of town. Once on deck Brodersen was transferred to the ambulance and taken to the hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. He had been wearing a survival suit during his time in the water