On November 9, Sebastian Arnsdorf, the Commanding Officer of United States Coast Guard Station Rockland, along with Executive Petty Officer Martin and several other members of the Coast Guard arrived on Matinicus Island to offer formal recognition from Coast Guard Sector Northern New England to two Matinicus fishermen. Enjoying the unusually calm seas and pleasant weather, these professional lifesavers were on the island to shake the hands of a couple of lobstermen and to affirm what islanders all instinctively know: that we are all one team when it comes to responding to emergencies on the water.
Clayton Philbrook, with his lobster boat Samantha Jane, and Robert Young aboard the Cynthia Lynn were among the roughly half-dozen captains who rushed to respond to an unknown situation after a small passenger airplane operated by Penobscot Island Air experienced a mechanical problem and the pilot “ditched” in the ocean north of Matinicus Island on July 17. The pilot and the three passengers—all injured, frightened and very cold—remained in the water until being rescued by the lobstermen. I was one of them. Young and Philbrook were specifically recognized because we were taken aboard their boats. The two men, both island natives, were honored as representatives of the entire community and, in particular, fishermen and boat owners who never think twice about putting their equipment to emergency-response use whenever the need arises.
After a few remarks and the presentation of awards to the two fishermen, and over coffee and doughnuts in the church basement, the Coast Guard personnel chatted with the students from Matinicus Elementary, with Penobscot Island Air owner Kevin Waters (himself a former Coast Guardsman and paramedic), and with islanders, many of whom were among the responders that day.
Mariners everywhere, on every island in Maine and in every part of the world, would do the same; they know that they are each other’s “first responder corps.” The Coast Guard is made up of people who have signed on to be professional rescuers, and who understand that duty as their primary responsibility. Our civilian community is honored to be recognized as lifesavers by these professionals.
The Pine Tree Chapter of the American Red Cross also praised the actions of these fishermen and others at the annual Real Heroes Breakfast, held at the Bangor Civic Center on Thursday, November 17. Five islanders and the pilot received the Real Hero award as individuals; an award was also presented to the entire island community—a first for the Red Cross, according to a spokesperson—because so many people were involved in some way. In addition to the rescuers on the boats, there were many in the harbor and on the island who helped, who managed our bleeding, worked to warm and reassure us, and moved us carefully from lobster boats to island vehicles to the Matinicus airstrip for transport to the mainland. In addition to captains Young and Philbrook, island residents Lacey Leigh, Samantha Philbrook and Craig MacLeod were specifically honored as they had been nominated in a letter to the Red Cross.
Penobscot Island Air Pilot Rob Hoffmann demonstrated true heroism in my opinion. I was sitting beside him as the plane went down. He never panicked, but worked to bring the malfunctioning airplane down as safely as possible. Once the airplane had sunk, while in pain from his own injuries, he swam back under the water to make sure I was free of the wreck as I had not yet surfaced.
In a coincidence that ranks among the saddest one can imagine, a second airplane crashed on Matinicus Island only 10 weeks after we were rescued. On October 5, veteran Pilot Don Campbell was killed instantly when his plane was forced out of control by what appears to have been a freak weather event. I had flown to the mainland only a few hours before that; nobody had reason to suspect that we were in any danger. Islanders, many of whom had responded to the first crash only a couple of months before, ran to help when they heard the loud and unfamiliar “bang.” It is my belief that everybody is due as much recognition and respect for that response; surely it required as much courage, they responded with as much speed, and in the end it resulted in a lot more stomach acid and many more nightmares. With our friend Don dead on the scene and no rescue possible, there would be no “Hero’s Breakfast,” no happy retelling of that story. But, everybody responded. That is all people can do. We cannot always be assured of the outcome.
This is not the first time the Coast Guard has recognized Matinicus civilians for lifesaving actions at sea. Nineteen years ago, three men of this island were honored for their rescue of the crew of the construction company tugboat Harkness, which sank off Matinicus in January, 1992, on a night when the temperature was below zero and the winds were about 40 mph.
As XPO Martin said to Robert and Clayton in the Matinicus church basement, “From one lifesaver to another: Well done!”