An off-duty Coast Guard saved two men’s lives by swimming to their aid off the coast of Long Island, New York, in the summer of 2018. Two years later, she became the second female Coast Guard ever to be recognized with a Silver Lifesaving Medal.
Victoria Vanderhaden, then a boatswain’s mate 3rd class, was strolling along the boardwalk near the Fire Island Lighthouse on July 24, 2018. She noticed the late-evening waves were hitting peaks of 6 feet amid winds of up to 30 miles an hour.
Victoria instructed a bystander to call 911 and the local Coast Guard unit while she leapt into the water. She reached both men and helped them to stay calm and keep their heads above water. Together, Victoria and the two men swam clear of the treacherous rip current by paddling parallel to the shore.
After approximately 30 minutes, they returned safety to the beach.
Two years after the rescue of the two struggling swimmers, on July 20, 2020, Victoria was recognized for her bravery with the Silver Lifesaving Medal at an award ceremony in Mobile, Alabama. She said she was glad she was “at the right place at the right time.”
The daughter of a first responder, Victoria has since risen to boatswain’s mate 2nd class. Her father, master chief petty officer of the Coast Guard Jason Vanderhaden attended his daughter’s award ceremony and proudly shared the event on social media.
“Today, I had the honor to witness my daughter ... receive the #CoastGuard Silver Lifesaving Medal for rescuing two men off the beach of Fire Island in the summer of 2018,” Vanderhaden shared.
“I couldn’t be more proud to see Rear. Admiral Nadeau ... pin the medal on her today in front of her mother and I and a small group of her shipmates,” he added.
“She is only the second Coast Guard active duty female to receive this honor alongside CWO Beth Slade,” they continued. “Bravo Zulu!”
The Lifesaving Medals were established in 1874, and in 2011, Chief Warrant Officer Slade became the first female Coast Guard to receive the honor for a successful rescue mission in 2001.
Slade and another first responder, Doug Knutzen, had risked their lives to save a fisherman trapped inside a capsized boat at Cape Disappointment State Park in Washington state. The pair used a chainsaw to cut through the boat’s hull to free the trapped man.