Water taxi heroes honored

The 26 naval reservists who rescued passengers from a capsized water taxi in the Baltimore Harbor last month were honored yesterday. Each received a medal or commendation signed by President Bush and the secretary of the Navy and resolutions expressing the thanks of a grateful nation from both houses of Congress.

They also were honored by a number of civilian and service organizations, but perhaps the simplest and most eloquent expression of thanks came from survivor Thomas Pierce of New Jersey, who lost his wife and his daughter in the March 6 accident.

“When I was underwater, I didn’t feel cold, I didn’t feel fear, I didn’t feel the sense of urgency most of you must have felt,” Mr. Pierce said, speaking near the end of a 1-hour ceremony at the Baltimore Naval Reserve Center.

“I felt this was the day the three of us go together. It was a very peaceful feeling, but it was not my time to leave.”

Mr. Pierce told the uniformed reservists and their families that the effect of their actions on the lives of others was “far greater than any of you realize.”

“As I stood on the rescue boat and listened to the man in the wheelhouse take total command and watched the men on the deck give CPR, I felt in total awe of each and every one of you,” Mr. Pierce said. “Your response to the accident was absolutely magnificent.”

The Seaport Taxi Lady D capsized March 6 in winds that gusted to 55 mph, plunging 25 persons into the cold Patapsco River. The reservists scrambled aboard the center’s naval troop deployment vessel to join city firefighters in rescuing 22 persons.

Five people died in the accident, including two who died after they were pulled from the water and three whose bodies were recovered after a search of the murky waters that lasted more than two weeks. Three of the five victims were from Virginia.

Honored yesterday with the Navy and Marine Corps Medal were five reservists who dived into the rough waters to rescue passengers:

m Cmdr. Peterson Decker, the ranking officer at the scene, who repeatedly entered the frigid waters to rescue three passengers trapped underneath the capsized vessel and who later administered CPR to one passenger, according to the commendation read at the ceremony;

m Petty Officer 2nd Class Sean Tate who dived in, kicking in submerged windows and doors to help rescue the trapped passengers until he had to be pulled out, and who later performed CPR on an unconscious passenger even though he himself was suffering from severe hypothermia;

m Petty Officer 2nd Class Jeffrey King, who prevented one passenger from being swept away in the swift currents;

m Lt. Cmdr. Arthur Eisenstein, who retrieved two of the victims; and

m Petty Officer Jerry Neblett, who spent several moments in the water lifting victims to the boat.

Also honored were Master Chief Melvin L. Johnson, the reserve center’s command master chief, and Senior Chief Petty Officer Vincent Scardina, who were credited with getting the rescue boat under way within minutes of the water taxi’s capsizing and holding it on station during the rescue despite severe wind and currents. They received a Meritorious Service Medal.

The other honorees received either the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal or the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, Maryland Democrat, commended the rescuers for the ingenuity they showed lashing the rescue vessel to the capsized taxi and using the vessel’s ramp so passengers could scramble from the hull of the water taxi to safety.

“It not only took training, it took character,” Miss Mikulski said. “When you look at who has the right stuff, you’re looking at it right here,” she said.