In all my rescue missions, I was privileged to meet more than my share of good Samaritans.
The two I will never forget.... the first was a Bell Telehone guy who walked into the fire of a plane crash...in chinos, a polo shirt, topsiders and Ray Bans. He looked up at me and shrugged "what can I do?"...I pointed for him to help our crewman pull a survivor from the wreckage Without hesitation he jumped alongside our crewman covered in flame retardant gear and dragged her out of an intense fire to safety while our helo backed out of the fire. He then disappeared into the crowd, never to be heard from again despite all the hoopla over the rescue. guess he thought his Ray Ban sunglasses made him superman. That guys has my eternal respect.
The second was a Delaware pilot boat skipper who was standing by a sailboat caught in the surf of Tropical Storm Josephine. We arrived on scene and were talking with him. A series of large waves came and one went completely over the pilot boat so much that I thought it had sunk. He then said to me in the calmest SAR voice I think I ever heard..." Uh.... Coast Guard, now that you are here, I think I am going to stand a bit ore offshore if that's OK with you". That guy deserves all the beer I can feed him in one night. He was standing by in 25" breaking waves on Hens and Chickens shoals off Cape Henelopen, De.
So yes...hats off to the boatlift guys, to all good Samaritans and especially to those who braved some real shi* I witnessed and will never forget.