Lifeguard

Department of Parks and Recreation

1/26/1969

Special Act Award (Gold)

On January 26, 1969, Life Guard Supervisor Knut B. Skjonberg and Lifeguards Eric V. Emery and Jerry L. Bennette responded to cries from a young man who had entered the rain swollen Santa Ana River to ride an inner tube and was quickly being carried out to sea. Dubbed the "worst storm in over thirty years”, the river was running bank to bank with an accumulation of mud, debris, trees, rattlesnakes and even spiders, all trapped in the swirling waters. The three men, noting the peril confronting the screaming, panic stricken youth, unhesitatingly forged their way through the churning mass of murky water. Clawing their way over logs and swimming wherever possible, the three reached the youth and pulled, tugged, and towed him to safety. Due to the extremely polluted water and the cuts and bruises incurred during the rescue, all had to be medically treated and inoculated against disease.