CAPE MAY – Semper Paratus, the U.S. Coast Guard motto, defines the life-saving branch’s ethos of “Always Ready.” The meaning of that motto was proven once again at the Fourth Annual Cape May County Coast Guard Community Festival, held at Coast Guard Training Center Cape May on May 5, when the 12:30 p.m. search-and-rescue (SAR) helicopter demonstration was canceled just before the crew was scheduled to take off because of a real-life SAR mission 30 miles off the coast of Cape May.
Minutes before, the Herald spoke to Ohio-born Lt. Eric Schwartz, lead pilot of his MH-65D helicopter, about his 7-year career with the Coast Guard that began with his graduation from the Coast Guard Academy, then flight school, and finally his deployment to Air Station Atlantic City.
Schwartz and his crew of Lt. Josh Mitcheltree, AMT-2 John Metes, and rescue swimmer AST-2 Andrew Wagner were giving tours of the medevac helicopter and preparing for their demonstration minutes before they were dispatched. Schwartz said his job “is very rewarding… lots of hard work, but very rewarding.”
When asked about his assignment to the festival, Schwartz said, “You can’t beat landing a helicopter on the grass and letting people climb all over it;” he had no idea that he and his crew would shortly fly into the Atlantic Ocean in response to a mariner in distress.
The crowds at the festival seemed to be the largest in years, according to Coast Guard reservists and Coast Guard Auxiliary personnel who guided visitors safely around the various displays. The USCGC Ida Lewis, a Keeper-class cutter of 175 feet, was the largest vessel available to tour, while the new 154-foot Sentinel-class fast response cutters, smaller 87-foot Marine Protector-class patrol cutters, down to the 29-foot Defender-class response boats also drew crowds of moms, dads, and children.
No further information was available about that mariner’s call for assistance, but the adaptability of the crew of the rescue helicopter was proof positive that the Coast Guard is truly Semper Paratus.
To contact Jim McCarty, email jmccarty@cmcherald.com.
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