In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Claude Morrissey, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Rescue Swimmer 537. Morrissey had an amazing time serving in the USCG and loved being a rescue swimmer. In this conversation, he recalls great times at each of his units and some of his most memorable rescues. 

His first unit was in Houston, Texas. In his first 24 hours of duty after being qualified as a rescue swimmer, he was called out for two people missing, then a medevac and then a boat on fire. That's a busy first day of duty! Morrissey took us through a few more rescues that stood out to him in Houston. He earned an Accommodation Medal, as well as earning the CG Foundation Award, alongside his crew. This was a rescue of four people hanging onto a boat that was almost completely sunk. He shares another story in which he rescued two guys in a raft with sharks swimming under them.

Next, we talk about a couple rescues out of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. While there, he earned a Sikorsky award for getting guys out of yet another raft.  The next story is where he earned an Air Medal for a rescue 245 nautical miles offshore. From Cape Cod, we transitioned our conversation over to Kodiak, Alaska, where Morrissey had two memorable rescues. One was of a boat that ran aground; the other found him on the edge of an extremely steep slope. 

Lastly, we go down to Elizabeth City, North Carolina, where we talk about five rescues. One of these stories was the assistance of a sailboat in distress, which required a landing on the USS Cole. Next, Morrissey talks about a critical patient rescued off a cruise ship. Then we discuss a rescue where they later found out that one of the persons involved was a billionaire. We also get to hear about the wild story of two pilots having to eject out of their plane after a mid-air collision. We finish our conversation discussing Morrissey’s very last rescue. Enjoy!

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