Coast Guard Swimmer Who Rescued 165 from Camp Mystic amid Texas Floods: 'Real Heroes Were the Kids on the Ground

[lostnfound]

8. Doesn't say he actually did any swimming... He says his work was after flood subsided.

the pilots were also brave to be there.

During the rescue mission, Ruskan said he was the only first responder at Camp Mystic, having traveled there with two pilots and a flight mechanic. The crew took off for Central Texas from Corpus Christi at about 6:30 a.m. and took seven or eight hours to reach the camp grounds due to the weather conditions in Texas. "They said it was probably some of the worst conditions they've ever flown in," said Lt. Commander Steven Roth, a spokesperson for the Coast Guard.
The crowd Ruskan found was cold, huddled and scared, according to the Coast Guard. So he got to work. Roth said Ruskan set up a triage to evaluate campers' medical conditions and prioritize a series of evacuations with a set of 12 helicopters. Roth said Ruskan guided groups of 10 to 15 children onto the helicopters stationed between two landing zones, which Ruskan arranged with the National Guard and Texas state officials.
One was an archery field. The other, a soccer field. The helicopters took off, carrying the survivors to medical care.
Roth said Ruskan was on the ground for hours, guiding children to the aircraft. He said much of the flooding had subsided at the time, but debris was scattered, buildings were crumbling and rain was pouring.

I admire the man and the work that all of these guys do. But I feel that a flurry of stories of a feel good story with an angle that a rescue swimmer saved 165 people is probably an achievement of a PR person trying to displace deeper questions about what happened and why.