Scott Ruskan, a 26-year-old Coast Guard special lifeguard, saved 165 Texas flood victims on his first mission on the 4th and was hailed as an “American hero.” Newsweek reported that flash floods broke out in central Texas on the 4th, and the water level of the Guadalupe River rose by 20 feet to 26 feet in 90 minutes, destroying most of the downstream areas, causing hundreds of casualties and missing persons, and residents were evacuated urgently. Ruskan, from New Jersey, previously worked as an accountant at the famous consulting firm KPMG. He joined the Coast Guard in 2021. After completing the special lifeguard (rescue swimmer) training, he was stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas. “That’s what it’s all about, that’s why we do this job,” Loskin said, according to the New York Post.
Loskin’s area of responsibility includes Camp Mystic, where 700 girls were housed when the Guadalupe River swelled.
Due to the flood, the Coast Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Air National Guard, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Urban Search and Rescue Task Force “Texas Task Force 1” formed an inter-agency rescue team; the New York Post reported that the Coast Guard received a request for emergency rapid response assistance from a rescuer from Texas Task Force 1.
Loskin said, “This mission is slightly beyond our normal scope of operations, but people are in danger and we should help when we are able. When someone asks for help, we provide support.”
Loskin led the rescue operation, and the team ultimately rescued 165 people.
Loskin said, “We rescued most of the people from the mysterious camp, which was great. I think we did a lot of good things that day, but it’s still very sad that many people are missing and the mission is not over yet.” Loskin’s heroic deeds were praised in the media. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem posted a message on “X Platform” to praise him, writing that “the extraordinary courage and selfless dedication of Loskin and his emergency response teammates embodied the spirit of the US Coast Guard and the true meaning of being the best American.” Noem praised Loskin for “saving 165 people in his first rescue mission in his career as a special lifeguard of the Coast Guard, which is amazing,” and “he was the only triage coordinator on the scene, and he is truly an American hero.” Loskin humbly told the New York Post, “I’m just an ordinary person, doing my job well, and that’s why I do this job. I think any special lifeguard, pilot, chief engineer of the Coast Guard, no matter who it is, would do the same thing in this situation.”
