VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A 21-year-old student at the Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit Oceana who saved a young boy caught in a rip current was awarded a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medal for his heroic actions on Tuesday.
On June 30, Aviation Electronics Technician Airman Michael Yang saw the boy struggling to swim about 20 yards off the shore of Dam Neck Annex beaches. That's where he was working as a lifeguard, according to a release from the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.
“It was very high tides. [The] strong current pulled the kid into deeper water,” Yang explained.
“[The] kid began struggling and I noticed from the stand and radioed 'Charlie Down' and sprinted and swam out to him," Yang said.
Yang said the child was yelling for help while swallowing water.
“When I got to him, I jammed the [lifeguard rescue] can into his chest and shouted at him to hold the can but he wasn’t responding or grabbing it, so I grabbed his body with my left arm and kept him tight on the can with my right arm while executing a combat sidestroke kicking toward shore,” Yang said.
According to Yang, the child most likely blacked out from exhaustion while struggling in the surf and regained consciousness by the time they got to shore.
Yang pulled him to a safe distance from the water and supervised his condition until EMTs arrived.
He was transported to a nearby hospital where his condition was stable.
"I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for allowing me to save that boy so he could be alive today," Yang said. "I also want to shout out to my leadership at CNATTU Oceana—AT1 Hunt, AT1 Jones, and Chief Santo. Their leadership helped me a lot and they were a great support for me while I was there."
Captain Steve Djunaedi, a Naval Air Station Oceana commanding officer, presented a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medal to Yang for his service.