Washington: US President Donald Trump has honoured a 16-year-old California lifeguard at the White House for rescuing Nathaniel Rai from treacherous waves off the Santa Cruz coast.
Trump hosted Ryder Williams, Nathaniel and their families in the Oval Office. He praised the teenager’s courage and the training that helped him carry out the dramatic rescue.
“This is a great story. And it’s an honor to be with Ryder Williams, who is a 16 year old lifeguard, California, the Santa Cruz area,” Trump said.
The President said he had spoken with Nathaniel about the ordeal.
“I said, would you have made it without him? And you said, not really, right, not really, it was trouble. So you’re going to have a long and beautiful life,” Trump said.
The rescue attracted wide attention because of the violent waves. Trump said he had watched footage of it repeatedly.
“I know when I first saw it, I said, roll that back, I want to see that again, is that really happening?” he said.
Nathaniel’s father, Sumit Rai, thanked Williams, lifeguard Aaron Bohnen and others who helped in the rescue.
“It’s incredible, what Ryder did. I’m just beyond grateful to him and Aaron and the rest of the team and even the good Samaritans that were there,” Rai said.
“I mean, it’s just such a privilege to be sitting next to him today and be able to celebrate his birthday tomorrow,” he added.
Williams said he relied on his training as he battled the dangerous surf.
“In those dangerous moments that we have, we always try to fall back on our training,” he said. “We are trained so well by many to handle that situation as best we can, so I really was thinking about how to get the boy out of the water as fast as I can.”
Williams said he hoped to become a firefighter and attend paramedic school.
Asked what message he had for his generation, he said: “I hope that everybody can take away from this and try to help more people, try to look out for everybody around you. And, um, just try to help everybody out as much as you can.”
Justin McHenry, assistant chief of aquatics and lifeguard operations in Santa Cruz, said the warm weather, large surf and strong currents had created treacherous conditions on the day of the rescue.
McHenry said about 200 lifeguards were trained each year, beginning at the age of 16. He said the work required “a lot of integrity and resilience” and that Williams’ actions exemplified the qualities sought in a state park lifeguard.
