Navy Federal Credit Union

Awards Received

  • Coast Guard Medal

    Service:

    United States Coast Guard

    Rank:

    Engineman Third Class

    Action Date:

    August 30, 1964

    U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office

    The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Coast Guard Medal to Engineman Third Class Gary D. Filsinger, United States Coast Guard, for heroism, on August 30, 1964, while serving a crew member of the CG-36455, when he unhesitatingly entered the surging surf, with breakers 20 to 30 feet high, to rescue seven survivors of the charter boat BELUGA, which had capsized on Siuslaw River Bar, Florence, Oregon. When advised of the accident, Filsinger manned the lifeboat and proceeded to the scene where all occupants of the demolished BELUGA were located foundering in the surf, approximately one-half mile from shore. The CC-36455 was skillfully maneuvered into the immediate vicinity of the survivors and one man was pulled aboard safely. However, when the coxswain of the CG-36455 saw that the boat was endangering the lives of the persons in the surf, Filsinger volunteered to enter the water. He immediately jumped into the 30-foot breakers and assisted six struggling survivors in their efforts to reach the safety of the shore. Filsinger demonstrated initiative and fortitude, in spite of extreme personal danger, during this rescue. His courageous actions most certainly contributed to the saving of the lives of the survivors. Filsingers’s unselfishness and unwavering devotion to duty reflect the highest credit upon himself and the United States Coast Guard.