An off-duty Coast Guard saved two men’s lives by swimming to their aid off the coast of Long Island, New York, in the summer of 2018. Two years later, she became the second female Coast Guard ever to be recognized with a Silver Lifesaving Medal.
Victoria Vanderhaden, then a boatswain’s mate 3rd class, was strolling along the boardwalk near the Fire Island Lighthouse on July 24, 2018. She noticed the late-evening waves were hitting peaks of 6 feet amid winds of up to 30 miles an hour.
