Hide Article Text (OCR)
SUN POST NEWS URESCUESFROM PAGE 1beach, and not a single person saw him starting to drown. Not a single one saw me bring him back to the beach,” he said.“I made sure the kid was OK and surfed for another hour.”This is a story that came to light only after the Exchange Club of San Clemente had concluded a Sept. 18 luncheon at Pride of the Pacific Restaurant in White’s honor. He didn’t mention it while accepting his Exchange Club’s award plus a Sha-ryn Evert painting and a Garth Day “Lifeguard of the Year” surfboard.“It’s the off-days I getthe best rescues because you’re not expecting it,” White said. “If I hadn’t been there, he would have drowned. It was the closest call I ever had, besides the other story.”The other story - the one White recounted for the Exchange Club - was about another off-duty rescue, when White was 12 years old and in San Clemente Junior Lifeguards.On vacation at Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park with his family, he sprang into action w'ith a 15-year-old friend whenthey heard a woman, i about 40, scream.While snorkeling in a lake about 50 feet from the beach, she panickedwhen her mask filled withwater and she ingested water from her snorkel, White said.The woman’s boyfriend tried to help, but she clawed at him, dragginghim underwater and “theyboth started drowning,” White said.The two boys, both in Junior Lifeguard training, got the same panicked response and she almostpulled them down. Butthey managed to free the boyfriend, calm the woman and get her safely to shore.Months later, White received a U.S. LifesavingAssociation award, an accolade noted at the Exchange Club’s luncheon. In 2005, he transitionedfrom the citv’s Junior Li-•/feguard program, earning a paid position on the beach. He works summers as a dispatcher andis deployed on patrol orstationed in Tower Zero on the pier during winter. He also has worked as a Junior Lifeguard instructor.White said he’s grateful to have rescued hundreds of swimmers from precarious situations during his nine years on the job.CONTACT THE WRITER:fswegles#ocregister.com or 949-492-5127
Newspaper Details
San Clemente Sun Post News
San Clemente, California, US
Fri, Sep 26, 2014
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Mike M.
USA 13 Apr 2022
Other Publications Near San Clemente, California
Sun Post News
San Clemente Sun Post News Spectrum
San Clemente News
San Clemente Sun Post News
