Medal of Valor

The highest lifeguard award presented by CSLSA/USLA is the Medal of Valor. The primary purpose for creating this award is to give due recognition to an individual lifeguard who voluntarily risked their life, to an extraordinary degree, in saving, or attempting to save another person, or who sacrificed themselves for the benefit of others.

 

2025 Medal of Valor Recipient:

• Marc Brown, Eric Kleymann, Greg Nelsen, Cortez Ritumalta

On March 28th, 2025, at 6:30 pm, Dispatch received a request to check the disposition of two people walking on the Mission Bay Channel Entrance jetty. At the time, the surf was ten feet, and the swell direction was directly impacting the tip of the jetty. The conditions were reported to be unlike anything even the seasoned lifeguards had experienced.

 

Lifeguard 3 Mark Brown was the first on scene, swimming onto the rocks after being dropped off by a rescue boat. Timing the swell astutely, Brown made access up and onto the rocks where he scrambled to high ground before the next wave made his hand and footholds awash. Brown located one victim who told him that his friend was stuck in the rocks and pointed to a crevice below. The low light made it difficult to see amidst the sea spray and impact of the relentless surf.

 

Additional resources were already en route. Lifeguard 2 Cortez Ritumalta was transported to the scene via RWC. Lifeguards 2 Greg Nelsen and Eric Kleymann arrived on scene via land and then were transported by Bay Boat Rescue 3 to the end of the jetty. Ritumalta, Nelsen, and Kleymann made access onto the jetty in the same manner as Brown, all remarkably without incident.

 

As the four of them got to work scheming how to free the trapped victim, a rescue helicopter, Copter 2, arrived on scene above. Communication was difficult due to the volume created by the wave action against the rocks. Loud booms and echoes were consistent as the sets punished the rocks. The rhythmic thumping of the helicopter’s blades added to the ensemble.  Due to the location of the victim, tide level, and impacting surf, the team had to time their actions between waves and during the lull. With only wetsuits for PPE and no tools other than their manpower, progress was slow.

 

As rescue efforts continued, what would later be described as “the biggest wave of the night” lammed the rocks and swept all four rescuers off their feet, bringing them to rest in a pile on top of one another. Copter 2 reported that all rescuers had been “wiped out” and called for more resources, including Coast Guard assets.

 

Fortunately, Copter 2’s assessment wasn’t entirely accurate. While Nelsen came out unscathed, Brown broke his ankle, and Ritumalta and Kleymann both sustained head and facial injuries. Ritumalta’s helmet was even cracked, possibly saving his life. Injured and rattled, but not deterred from the mission, the team resumed their work to free the trapped victim.

 

Finally, during a lull in the set, the victim was freed. Copter 2 lowered a basket and a rescue technician. The patient was extricated and ultimately survived. Due to the lifeguard’s skill and persistence, despite personal injury and risk, a family member went home safe that day.

 

For their heroic lifesaving actions, Marc Brown, Eric Kleymann, Greg Nelsen and Cortez Ritumalta are hereby awarded the California Surf Lifesaving Association’s Medal of Valor award.

• Marea Zlatunich

On August 17th, 2025, at 4:00 pm, California State Parks Lifeguard II Marea Zlatunich was patrolling the area of Panther Beach, north of Santa Cruz, when she was dispatched to a 911 call for a missing suicidal juvenile in the area. After searching the area for approximately one hour, a ranger received a report from a bystander that they had a visual of a victim in the water, south of Panther Beach. The victim was believed to be the missing person.

 

In order to access the shoreline from which a swimming rescue could be initiated, Zlatunich drove her lifeguard vehicle as close as she could and then took off on foot. With her rescue tube in hand and her pocket mask stowed in her pocket, she ran a half mile down the beach. Rangers on top of the cliff signaled her to assist in maintaining a visual on the victim. She followed the hang signals until she located the victim floating face down approximately 450 yards from shore, outside the breaking waves.

 

The surf was 4-5 feet with 10-knot winds. Sea surface conditions were sloppy, increasing the difficulty of maintaining a visual on the victim from sea level. Zlatunich entered the 60-degree water, swam through the surf zone, and contacted the victim. The female victim was face down, unconscious, and met the description of the missing person.

 

Zlatunich flipped the patient over and began to consider her extrication options. Seeing no rescue boats on the horizon, she turned her gaze shoreward. Going back the way she came was going to be challenging due to wave size and rip currents. The current had also transported her further south. She spotted a pocket cove and made the decision to extricate there. By herself, she negotiated the 4-5 foot shore break with her victim. Once shallow enough to stand, she carried the victim up the beach to continue care.

 

With a cliff surrounding three sides and an ocean in front of her, Zlatunich confirmed the patient was pulseless and apneic and began CPR. Knowing the remote nature of her location—and the lengths it took her to arrive—Zlatunich did not know how long she would be by herself. She had no radio, no medical kit, and no AED. With nothing but a pocket mask and a pair of wet gloves, she heroically performed CPR on the patient for 20 minutes, giving the patient the best chance of survival she could.

 

Finally, backup from a Santa Cruz Fire Department Rescue Swimmer/Paramedic and lifeguard arrived. Three-person CPR was performed. Unfortunately, despite the rescuer’s effort, the patient was pronounced deceased by the Paramedic. Zlatunich and team swam the patient back through the surf to a Santa Cruz Harbor Patrol vessel..

 

As first responders, even when we apply our full training and effort, some outcomes remain beyond our control due to circumstances outside our influence. Nevertheless, the dedication, courage, and risks we undertake often provide meaningful comfort to grieving families, demonstrating that everything possible was done to save their loved one

 

• Ben Coffee & Xander Mehl - Santa Cruz Fire Department

On December 23rd, 2024 at 12:45pm Santa Cruz Lifeguard Lieutenant Ben Coffey and LG1 Xander Mehl were patrolling on their Rescue Water Craft in the area of West Cliff Drive and Mitchells Cove when they were dispatched to the Santa Cruz wharf which had collapsed with reported victims in the area. As they were about to respond to the wharf they noticed two surfers caught on the inside with 25-30’ waves beginning to break up the point. This set was a whole category bigger than the 15-20’ waves these surfers had been chasing. In this area half of the shoreline is covered by sheer cliff face while the other half is riprap rocks, an area referred to by the locals as “death rocks”. The waves began to stretch from the top of the point across to Steamer Lane, a half mile away.

Ben and Xander knew the surfers were now in an extremely dangerous situation due to their slow paddle progress and size of the set that could push them into the rocks and certain peril. They made the decision to rescue the surfers before responding to the wharf.

They assisted the first surfer two hundred yards out past the impact zone into the channel before returning for the second surfer.

As they got the second surfer on the sled the set began to close out on them, blocking their path to the safe water outside. There were two witnesses to this rescue, watching from the top of West Cliff Drive. One wrote in a newspaper article, “From our elevated position, I could tell the driver was in trouble before he could. The next wave was mammoth and already feathering – its face many times higher than the jet ski and its riders. It was a rogue wave that for some reason is doubled up and rises out of proportion to the set it is in. It was going to break across the entire stretch of that coast, from outside Mitchell’s possibly all the way to the lighthouse.”

With no beach to land on and no way to punch through the wave they were trapped. The witness writes, “His decision was instantaneous. He turned down into the trough between the two waves. He made a left turn at the bottom. Taking a parallel track with the wave lines, he began a white-knuckle race to outrun the wave. His only choice was to outrun the wave before it broke on them or before it ran them aground.”

“The surfer’s legs and surfboard hammered the air and water behind him. Then, the board spun out high into the air as the leash snapped. I can’t imagine how he held on.”

As the space between the wave and the cliff narrowed they were able to make it to the point at Steamer Lane and find a channel deep enough to get over the wave and the rest of the set. They dropped the surfer on Cowells Beach and then proceeded to assist with the wharf collapse rescue. For their heroic actions, Ben Coffee and Xander Mehl are awarded the California Surf Lifesaving Association and United States Lifesaving Association's Medal of Valor.

2024 Medal of Valor Recipient:

• Aaron Fletcher, Devon Beebe & Chris Terhune - Long Beach Marine Safety/Long Beach Fir

At 9:10pm on July 3rd, 2024 Long Beach Rescue Boat 1 received a report of a 48’ sport fisher, Four Kings, with 10 people on board that drove into the Alamitos Bay Channel jetty and was taking on water. At the time of the impact four victims were up on the flybridge. Two of those victims were thrown forward into a seating bench. Two more were thrown into the console area, both knocked unconscious. Downstairs in the salon, the tables had become dislodged from their places by the impact and by the bodies that were thrown forward into them. Six victims reported crawling out from beneath the tables.

RB1 arrived on scene to find one person standing on the bow, exclaiming there was one victim still up in the flybridge. There was loud music and alarms sounding from the vessel. Eight injured survivors were found on the rocks. The vessel was actively sinking and pitching and rolling in the swell. RB1 Captain Aaron Fletcher, Fire Captain Paramedic Chris Terhune, and Marine Safety Officer Devon Beebe went to work triaging survivors.

Aaron dropped Chris off on the rocks to initiate patient care and request an MCI. Devon donned her wetsuit and boarded the Four Kings which was now underwater almost to the bow gunwales with water swamping the interior and stern deck. She assisted the victim on the bow to the safety of the rocks below then climbed the ladder to the flybridge.

Atop the flybridge, which was covered in blood, she found an unconscious adult male victim with a penetrating face injury. She attempted to move the victim to a flat surface but was unable given his weight and size. Devon yelled in an attempt to provide an update and request assistance, but her message was not received due to the loud music and tasks of the other rescuers. She climbed back down and brought Chris back with her. Together they moved the victim and placed AED pads on the patient. The monitor read asystole and it was determined the victim was DOA.

Devon and Chris returned to the victims on the rocks to continue care to a multitude of injuries including facial fractures, a collapsed lung, broken bones and contusions.

Next the lines that held the boat to the rocks parted causing the sinking boat to list severely with the flybridge and deceased victim now in the water. Devon swam into the flybridge, which was now underwater, to retrieve the body. With lighting assistance from RB1 she was able to locate the body a few feet below the surface and swim him toward RB1. Devon and Aaron got the body up onto the swim step and then onto the stern deck of the rescue boat. In total three patients were ambulatory and the other six were transported to the hospital.
 

For their heroic actions, Aaron Fletcher and Devon Beebe are awarded the California Surf Lifesaving Association and United States Lifesaving Association's Medal of Valor. Chris Terhune is awarded the California Surf Lifesaving Association's Public Safety Medal of Valor and the United States Lifeguard Association's Heroic Act Award.

 

CSLSA/USLA Lifeguard Medal of Valor
Recipients from California agencies

Albers, Bob  1999  San Diego, CA Bahl, John  2017   San Diego, CA Bartlett, Mike  2005  Huntington Beach, CA. Beebe, Devon  2024  Long Beach, CA Belden, Andrew  2022   Newport Beach, CA Beuerlein, Mike  1989  Huntington Beach, CA Blackford, Matt  2010  Newport Beach, CA Borland, Tim  2003  Port San Luis Harbor District, CA Brady, Megan  2022   California State Parks, CA Brown, Mark  2025 San Diego, CA Buck, Nathaniel  2009  California State Parks, CA Carlson, Ben (posthumous)  2014  Newport Beach, CA Carter, David  1991  Cal State Parks (Russian River District) Cicchetto, Sean  1996  San Diego, CA Cleveland, Tyson  2018   Oceanside, CA Coats, Eric  2006  Cal State Parks (Lake Perris) Coffee, Ben 2024  Santa Cruz, CA Connolly, Chris  2016  Cal State Parks (Ventura) Corbo, Christian  1998  Laguna Beach, CA Culp, Casey  1998  California State Parks, CA Dhillon, Victor  2018   Oceanside, CA Feighan, Mark  2010  San Diego, CA Fellars, Timothy B.  2009  California State Parks, CA Fesler, Jeff  2003  Port San Luis Harbor District, CA Fletcher, Aaron  2024   Long Beach, CA Gherardi, Brandon  2023   Los Angeles County, CA Gitelson, Joel  2006  Los Angeles County, CA Grigsby, Scott  1994  Los Angeles County, CA Griguoli, Rich  2003  California State Parks, CA Harris, Ed  1999  San Diego, CA Helble, Andrew  2019   California State Parks, CA Higa, Brian  2012  City/County of Honolulu, HI Horn, Brit  2005  Sonoma Coast State Beach, CA Hunter, Max  2024   California State Parks, CA Ingalls, Chris  2017   San Diego, CA Kari, Brian  2018   Los Angeles County, CA Kelley, Kaipo  2018   Oceanside, CA Keulana, Brian  1996  Honolulu, HI Kleymann, Eric 2025 San Diego, CA Korber, Paul  1998  Ventura County, CA(posthumous to rescue effort) Kothlow, Erin  2022   California State Parks, CA Lagendijk, Emile  2018   Oceanside, CA Lagendijk, Marko  2018   Camp Pendleton, CA Larsen, Billy  2003  Pismo Beach, CA Liebig, Peter  2010  San Diego, CA Macko, Nick  2020   Los Angeles County, CA Mattison, Matt  2018   Oceanside, CA McDonald, Daryl  2010  San Diego, CA Mehl, Xander 2024 Santa Cruz, CA Meyer, Greg  2010  Newport Beach, CA Milligan, Joe  1989  California State Parks, CA Murphy, Timothy  1996  California State Parks, CA Nelson, Greg 2025 San Diego, CA Northhelfer, James W.  2009  California State Parks, CA Panis, Marc  1989  Huntington Beach, CA Paun, Chris  2021   Port Hueneme, CA Pendergraft, Aaron  2016  Cal State Parks (Sonoma) Pepper, Laine  1999  San Diego, CA Quigley, Patrick  1998  Laguna Beach, CA Quigley, Patrick  1999  San Diego, CA (this is his second award)  Raines, Dave  1999  San Diego, CA Rhodes, Matt  2018   Los Angeles County, CA Rhodes, Riley  2024   California State Parks, CA Ritumalta, Cortez 2025 San Diego, CA Snow, Kevin  1998  Laguna Beach, CA Sproull, Mark  1998  Laguna Beach, CA Stephenson, Michael  1996  California State Parks, CA Straub, Don  1991  Cal State Parks (Russian River District) Swank, Dieter  2018   Oceanside, CA Sweet, Ben  2024   California State Parks, CA Tegland, Ormand  1998  Laguna Beach, CA Trager, Tom  1998  Laguna Beach, CA Vipond, Jon  2010  San Diego, CA Wilson, David  2017   Oceanside, CA Zlatunich, Marea 2025 California State Parks, CA

Public Safety/Military Medal of Valor (Non-lifeguard)
The highest award for military/public-safety presented by the CSLSA/USLA is the Medal of
Valor. The primary purpose for creating this award is to give due recognition to an individual who
voluntarily risked their life, to an extraordinary degree, in saving, or attempting to save another
person, or who sacrificed themselves for the benefit of others.

Austin Trinkle, Chairman

Special Awards & Presentations Committee

California Surf Lifesaving Association