On October 24th, 2001 Coast Guard Second Class Aviation Survival Technician Eric Mueller received a call. A man had jumped into the water just above Niagara Falls to end his life. However, just a few seconds into the river and just as he saw the horizon of the 170 foot drop, he decided he had done the wrong thing. About 20 feet away from the edge, but still in the middle of the river, he managed to cling onto a submerged rock just below the surface.
This man spent 40 minutes in 50 degree water. He was hypothermic, had tunnel vision, was panicking, and barely hanging on when the Coast Guard helicopter got to him.
At this point, the aircrew goes through a decision making process called “Crew Resource Management.” It is an opportunity for the rescue swimmer to decide if the rescue could be done safely and if he was willing to pay the ultimate price sacrificially, just to rescue someone. They always have the legitimate option to say “no, it’s too dangerous for me.” Eric Mueller said “yes” and was lowered down to the man in the water.
The first attempt failed as the water rushed Eric past the man on the rock and right to the edge of the cliff. The helicopter lifted him up again for another try. The man panicked which created a life threatening situation for both men. Neither men were able to stand up and both could easily and quickly let go and fall off the falls together.
After a few minutes, Eric had the man safely cabled to the helicopter alongside of him. There was not enough air-lift for the helicopter to turn around. The only way out was to fly over the falls and down to the parking lot where ambulances waited. Rescuers and tourists greeted the Coast Guard Team with cheers. The man was placed in the ambulance and saluted Eric with tears.
Recently, Eric Mueller was credited with eleven years of extraordinary service to the Coast Guard.
The author states- “Of all the awards and recognition he received during his career, the one thing that would have meant more would have been to receive a thank you note from one of the people he saved. ‘That is the only thing I never received,'” Eric said.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky called humanity “the ungrateful biped,” and this story is one of many that expresses that sentiment. Grace, however, creates gratitude. With a rescue far greater than going over Niagara falls, have you recently given thanks to God, simply because of his rescue of you through Christ?
NOTE: the above story is adapted from So Others May Live- Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers: Saving Lives, Defying Death, pgs. 104ff.
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