Heroism medal awarded to Westport Coast Guardsman

Rescue of man in danger of drowning

By Louis Krauss • April 6, 2018 7:00 pm
LOUIS KRAUSS | THE DAILY WORLD Coast Guard Officer Jacob Hylkema (second from left) receives a medal for heroism in Westport Friday afternoon, as U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer watches. Hylkema volunteered to swim through 18 to 20-foot waves to rescue a drowning sailor one night in 2016.
LOUIS KRAUSS | THE DAILY WORLD Coast Guard Officer Jacob Hylkema (second from left) receives a medal for heroism in Westport Friday afternoon, as U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer watches. Hylkema volunteered to swim through 18 to 20-foot waves to rescue a drowning sailor one night in 2016.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Jacob Hylkema was awarded a medal for heroism yesterday in Westport, commemorating his efforts two years ago to rescue a solo sailboat captain from drowning.

The Coast Guard Medal for Heroism is the third-highest award a Coast Guardsman can be awarded, and requires an act of heroism “in the face of great danger to themselves,” according to the Coast Guard.

On the night of Oct. 6, 2016, Hylkema volunteered to jump into the rough 18 to 20-foot waves, after realizing the distressed sailboat master was entangled in a line off the side of his boat, and was unable to free himself. The sailor had been out in his personal boat by himself.

Hylkema, a trained surface swimmer, then swam 150 feet to cut the man free, and held him in the life ring as fellow crew members aboard the Coast Guard motorboat Invincible pulled them back in.

U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer of Washington’s 6th District, Rear Admiral David Throop, Coast Guard 13th District, and Capt. Bill Timmons, commander of the Columbia River Coast Guard Sector, were also in attendance for the ceremony.