An Appleton man, who is a rescue swimmer with the U.S. Coast Guard, has been honored with the Distinguished Flying Cross after he performed a nighttime cliffside rescue in Oregon last year.
A man had reportedly fallen over 100 feet down a cliff near Galice Oregon on June 28th of last year, landing in the Rouge River. Petty Officer 3rd Class John Kelly was lowered down via helicopter to help the severely injured man out of the river.
There were many different difficulties with the rescue, but the victim was airlifted to safety and has recovered. Kelly also suffered injuries in the incident but insisted on caring for the victim before his own injuries were tended to.
Kelly was surprised with the Flying Cross honor during a ceremony at the Coast Guard’s Lake Michigan area headquarters last Friday (April 9th).
