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A Coast Guard rescue swimmer who is credited with helping rescue dozens of children from deadly Texas floods in July has been awarded the Legion of Merit.President Donald Trump awarded Scott Ruskan the honor during his State of the Union address on Feb. 24.”As the waters threatened to sweep her away, 11-year-old Milly Cate McClymond closed her eyes and prayed to God she thought she was going to die,” Trump said. “Those prayers were answered when Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan descended from a helicopter above.” At the State of the Union, Ruskan was reunited with an 11-year-old girl he saved, Milly Cate McClymond. The two stood side by side as Trump spoke.”He lifted not just Milly Cate, but 164 others to safety. People watched Scott from a distance, and they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. The winds were blowing, the rain was pouring, everything was going,” Trump said. “Tonight, Scott and Milly Cate are here together, reunited for the very first time. Thank you, Scott.”More than 130 people were killed in the historic flash floods that tore through central Texas, including young campers at Camp Mystic. When Petty Officer Ruskan stepped off the plane in central Texas as the Guadalupe River swelled from 3 feet to nearly 30, it was his first mission as a Coast Guard rescue swimmer.The 26-year-old had left a career as an accountant before enlisting in the Coast Guard. Six months before, he had graduated from a swim rescue school. Then they got the call from a Texas search-and-rescue team.They were needed urgently in central Texas, where torrential flooding had struck over the July Fourth weekend. Dozens of people were dead, and more were missing. On the ground at Camp Mystic, Ruskan was the only first responder around and was met with “about 200 kids, mostly all scared, terrified, cold, having probably the worst day of their life.” At the camp, Ruskan comforted the distressed children gathered into an area above the flood zone, and heard stories from camp counselors who rushed to push campers out the door before cabins flooded. Some kids had cuts on their feet because they were barefoot. They didn’t have time to put on shoes before they scrambled to safety. For around three hours, Ruskan said, he was the only rescuer on site and had no communication due to poor radio reception and no cell service. But he was focused on the children.“They’re having probably the worst day of their life. They’re missing friends. They’re missing loved ones,” he told CNN. “They don’t know where they are. Some of them may be unaccounted for. Some of them may be somewhere else.” He did his best to reassure the shell-shocked campers, promising he would get them out and that other rescuers were looking for their missing friends. Comfort “could be something as simple as holding their hand,” he added.Texas Air National Guard aircraft landed at the camp’s archery field and soccer field, and Ruskan led the children to the aircraft. He focused on getting the youngest children out first.Ruskan helped rescue approximately 165 campers with him, carrying some to the helicopter to help them avoid slipping on wet rocks or cutting their feet even more.The rescue swimmer was hailed as an “American hero” by the Department of Homeland Security. The agency lauded the “extraordinary bravery and selfless service of Ruskan and his fellow first responders.”Ruskan said the other counselors who helped rescue efforts and the tough kids were also heroes.Seeing how bravely they acted, he said, “made me a better rescuer.”CNN’s Zoe Sottile and staff contributed to this report.
A Coast Guard rescue swimmer who is credited with helping rescue dozens of children from deadly Texas floods in July has been awarded the Legion of Merit.
President Donald Trump awarded Scott Ruskan the honor during his State of the Union address on Feb. 24.
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“As the waters threatened to sweep her away, 11-year-old Milly Cate McClymond closed her eyes and prayed to God she thought she was going to die,” Trump said. “Those prayers were answered when Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan descended from a helicopter above.”
At the State of the Union, Ruskan was reunited with an 11-year-old girl he saved, Milly Cate McClymond. The two stood side by side as Trump spoke.
“He lifted not just Milly Cate, but 164 others to safety. People watched Scott from a distance, and they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. The winds were blowing, the rain was pouring, everything was going,” Trump said. “Tonight, Scott and Milly Cate are here together, reunited for the very first time. Thank you, Scott.”
More than 130 people were killed in the historic flash floods that tore through central Texas, including young campers at Camp Mystic.
When Petty Officer Ruskan stepped off the plane in central Texas as the Guadalupe River swelled from 3 feet to nearly 30, it was his first mission as a Coast Guard rescue swimmer.
The 26-year-old had left a career as an accountant before enlisting in the Coast Guard. Six months before, he had graduated from a swim rescue school. Then they got the call from a Texas search-and-rescue team.
They were needed urgently in central Texas, where torrential flooding had struck over the July Fourth weekend. Dozens of people were dead, and more were missing.
On the ground at Camp Mystic, Ruskan was the only first responder around and was met with “about 200 kids, mostly all scared, terrified, cold, having probably the worst day of their life.”
At the camp, Ruskan comforted the distressed children gathered into an area above the flood zone, and heard stories from camp counselors who rushed to push campers out the door before cabins flooded. Some kids had cuts on their feet because they were barefoot. They didn’t have time to put on shoes before they scrambled to safety.
For around three hours, Ruskan said, he was the only rescuer on site and had no communication due to poor radio reception and no cell service. But he was focused on the children.
“They’re having probably the worst day of their life. They’re missing friends. They’re missing loved ones,” he told CNN. “They don’t know where they are. Some of them may be unaccounted for. Some of them may be somewhere else.”
He did his best to reassure the shell-shocked campers, promising he would get them out and that other rescuers were looking for their missing friends. Comfort “could be something as simple as holding their hand,” he added.
Texas Air National Guard aircraft landed at the camp’s archery field and soccer field, and Ruskan led the children to the aircraft. He focused on getting the youngest children out first.
Ruskan helped rescue approximately 165 campers with him, carrying some to the helicopter to help them avoid slipping on wet rocks or cutting their feet even more.
The rescue swimmer was hailed as an “American hero” by the Department of Homeland Security. The agency lauded the “extraordinary bravery and selfless service of Ruskan and his fellow first responders.”
Ruskan said the other counselors who helped rescue efforts and the tough kids were also heroes.
Seeing how bravely they acted, he said, “made me a better rescuer.”
CNN’s Zoe Sottile and staff contributed to this report.
