Another reason to celebrate

SAN DIEGO -- Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Thomas Conant, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Commanding General, shakes hands with Coast Guard Lt. Philip Baxa, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Edisto, in a hangar at Coast Guard Sector San Diego, Aug. 18, 2011. Conant visited with the crew of the Edisto, an MH-60 Jawhawk helicopter crew and the Joint Harbor Operations Center personnel that worked together to rescue two Marine Corps aviators that ejected over the Pacific Ocean during a training flight Aug. 10, 2011. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Henry G. Dunphy.

SAN DIEGO -- Coast Guard C-130 Hercules airplane crewmembers from Air Station Sacramento pose with two Marine Corps aviators during a ball at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Nov. 9, 2011. The Coast Guard crew helped to rescue the Marines when they ejected during a training flight over the Pacific Ocean, Aug. 10, 2011. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Henry G. Dunphy.

A group of Coast Guardsmen at a Marine Corps Ball stick out like a handful of sore thumbs. However, this noticeable group was welcomed with a standing ovation and handshakes by the Marines of All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 121 during this year’s ball.

This year the squadron not only celebrated the 236th birthday of the Marine Corps and the 70th anniversary of the squadron being established, but they also welcomed two of their members back to the squadron who were injured when they ejected during a training flight over the Pacific Ocean in August.

That’s where the Coast Guard members come in. These particular Coast Guardsmen were members of a search and rescue crew from Air Station Sacramento who helped locate the downed aviators amid the debris of their plane 30 miles off the coast of Mexico, Aug. 10, 2011.The crew of the CG-1712, a C-130 Hercules airplane, was already airborne en route to a law enforcement patrol off the coast of southern California when they heard radio transmissions about lost communications with an F/A-18 Hornet from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

The Hercules crew immediately diverted to join Navy and Marine Corps crews searching for their downed comrades.

The CG-1712 coordinated with a Marine Corps C-130 crew that was also searching and spotted the men in the water. Once the survivors were sighted, the C-130 crew vectored in the other rescue crews to their location.

Thanks to the combined efforts of air and surface crews, as well as those working in command centers throughout California, the downed Marines were found after several hours in the 60-degree water. They were battered, but alive when they were hoisted from the water by a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and transported to Balboa Naval Medical Center in San Diego.

Maj. Gen. Thomas Conant, former 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Commanding General, and Sgt. Maj. Don Gallagher, former 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Sergeant Major, visited Coast Guard Sector San Diego in August to speak to the crews who helped in the search, but the squadron also wanted to thank the Sacramento crew.

“We all felt extremely fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to aid in the rescue of our downed aviator brothers,” said Lt. j.g. Jarret Stricker, one of the pilots of the CG-1712 and himself a prior Marine. “The display of teamwork between our sea-service partners was truly inspiring and to see the injured aircrew well on their way to recovery is a testament to this cooperation.”

Luckily, this cooperation and the quick actions of rescue crews gave the squadron something extra to celebrate at this year’s ball.

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