Long Island man will be awarded Silver Lifesaving Medal

NEW YORK – A Long Island, N.Y., man will be awarded a Coast Guard lifesaving medal, for a 2009 rescue, at a ceremony Saturday, July 30, 2011.

Jonathan Pearlroth, of Westhampton, N.Y., will be awarded the Silver Lifesaving Medal in a ceremony scheduled at Coast Guard Station Shinnecock, N.Y.

Pearlroth saved a man from drowning in the waters of the south shore of Long Island on the afternoon of Oct. 22, 2009. The man fell overboard from his small boat while attempting to untangle a fishing line. He was not wearing a lifejacket and was unable to keep up with the drift of his boat.

Pearlroth, who lived nearby, heard the man’s cry for help. He called 9-1-1, grabbed a floatation device and swam out to help the victim. Mr. Pearlroth was physically unable to swim the victim to shore so he held onto him and kept him afloat and alert until help arrived.

Once rescued from the water, Mr. Pearlroth continued to help the victim by covering him in emergency blankets until emergency service personnel arrived.

The Silver Lifesaving Medal was created by congress in 1874 and is awarded to people who endanger their own lives while saving or attempting to save another from drowning, a shipwreck or other perils of the water. The Coast Guard is the ultimate award authority for the Silver Lifesaving Medal and can award the decorations to members of all military branches as well as civilians. For more information about the Silver Lifesaving Medal, visit: http://goo.gl/oOcsc

                        WHO: Capt. James McPherson, Chief of Staff for the First Coast Guard District in Boston
                                  Mr. Jonathan Pearlroth of Westhampton, N.Y.

                        WHEN: Saturday, July 30, 2011 at 11 a.m.

                        WHERE: U.S. Coast Guard Station Shinnecock
                                     100 Foster Ave.
                                     Hampton Bays, N.Y. 11946
                                     Link to interactive MAP

Editor’s note: Media planning to attend the award ceremony are asked to RSVP by 12 p.m., Friday July 29, 2011, to Lt. j.g. Erin Dixon at (203) 468-4508 or email at Erin.M.Dixon@uscg.mil.

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