My Hero and His Heroes

[XLFD]

                                    Christopher Marsh and daughter along Lake Michigan in Ludington

Near the end of last summer, four high school seniors rose to the occasion and became heroes, rescuing a man from drowning at Ludington's Stearns Beach.  We immediately recognized their efforts here, and they were the toast of local print and televised media for their selfless actions.  Even city hall would recognize them at their next meeting on September 9th, and even though I likely clapped the loudest for their heroism, I couldn't help but point out city policy for creating a situation that could have ended up much worse by not having lifeguards at the beach since 2009.  

Ten months later, that conversation hasn't ever started even as another person, an 18 year old woman from Ada is airlifted in critical condition after another near-drowning incident at Stearns Beach, and even while the city rushes forward in having city-sponsored vendors sell alcoholic beverages down at the beach.  While that will likely remain a dead issue among city policy leaders, what was even sadder that the next day after the meeting the heroes were given written commendations, the rescued party died from complications of the near-drowning episode down in a Grand Rapids hospital.  

While this shouldn't tarnish the heroic efforts of the four teens in any way, it should be acknowledged by both the city and in drowning statistics that this "John Doe" died of drowning at Stearns Park, not just winding up in critical condition.  And yet, it would take a friend noticing something in an on-line obituary for this reporter to find out about this death, who "John Doe" was, and my unknown long-term connection to him.  

For I had never heard of that drowning victim, Christopher Marsh, until his obituary was brought to my attention early this year and amid all of the accolades expressed about his acts and character in the 200 words before it lists his survivors were a few about an incident all too familiar:  "The State of Michigan recognized Christopher for his actions as a passerby first responder to a serious accident in which a vehicle struck a DNR Officer at Ludington State Park."

Here's where our life stories intersect.  Marsh, who was 50 when he died last year, would have been 21 back in 1995 when this serious accident occurred where a vehicle struck me, a seasonal park ranger, working at the front gate of the park just after midnight on July 29th.  I was giving out what was called a priority number to a family in a 30-foot camper who were hoping to get a campsite for the night but had to be put on a waiting list because all campsites were full.  As I was conversing with the driver, I recall hearing a loud noise behind the camper and turning in that direction I saw a light.  Then only darkness. 

It turned out that a man driving a Ford Aerostar had gone into town earlier that night with his niece and nephew in tow and came back after having visited the lighthouse in town and purchasing strong liquor, which the children said he had partaken of quite liberally.  Reportedly, he had almost ran the chief janitor of the state park off M-116 along the lakefront on her way home.  Purportedly, he never figured out that the road was ending and that there was a trailer parked at the park gate until the last moment, where he veered off slightly, hitting the right edge of the trailer, shattering the corner of it, before hitting a large rock and going airborne, then hitting me and catapulting me nearly 70 feet from where I was, just to land near a puddle on the pavement of the road that turns into the park.  

It truly was a miracle that there were no fatalities and that I essentially had no life changing injuries from the experience.  One onlooker quipped that when he saw the collision and saw me flying swiftly through the air landing over twenty yards away, that I was a goner.  He tended to other people on the periphery; fortunately, there were some that didn't write me off so easily.  

One of those appears to have been Christopher Marsh, but I couldn't tell you because I was in a state of shock and can't remember anything other than confusion and babble.  If we are to believe the obituary, he stepped up that day and probably kept me from injuring myself further, applied first aid, and otherwise kept me responsive in a way that one wouldn't expect from one at the tender age of 21.  I couldn't tell you what he did, I couldn't even tell you whether he visited me at the hospital afterwards because I would be under heavy pain medication for a few days, the police reports can't even tell you, but somebody took notice of his efforts at the park which led to his recognition by the state DNR for his part that night nearly 30 years ago. 

                                                       Christopher Marsh and son at Ludington State Park 

Twenty-nine years thereafter, one can sense by its inclusion in his obituary that the night's event and the award was a seminal event in Christopher Marsh's life and he relished the role of being a hero for the rest of his tragically shortened life.  It was very sad for me that his role was unknown to me until months after his passing, a death that came too early in Lake Michigan in Ludington where he once had become a young hero just a few hundred yards from that body of water and recognized by the state for his lifesaving efforts.  

                                         Christopher Marsh's crew of heroes from August 29th, 2024

How fitting that even in his tragic passing that Christopher Marsh would create four heroes who eschewed their own safety in order to rescue a stranger:  Brayden Lewis, Joey Spahn-Baxter, Bradley Schneider and Gary Jacobs.  One hopes that their future lives will be as caring, loving, and productive as the person they saved last August, my hero forever, Christopher Marsh.  

A special thanks in writing this article to Sheriff Kim Cole, who as a sergeant with the MCSO, was the first first-responder who arrived that July night back in 1995, and who recently helped me amass that 30-year-old accident report and investigation, supplementing my understanding of what went down that night.  A special thanks in advance to anyone associated with Christopher Marsh who can give me any more information on what he did that night 30 years ago and whatever else I should know about my hero.

[woodsman]

   What happened to the Emily life saving devices for the state park and Ludington Stearns beach?  Have not heard or seen anyplace that they have been used for water rescue. Where do they store these Emily things at?

[XLFD]

I don't know about the state park; I was there the other day and didn't see the EMILY robotic life-saving device on the beach, I would presume it would be somewhere in the beachhouse, hopefully accessible through the concessionaires therein.

At Stearns, I went there yesterday after this incident and didn't see the distinctive orange tube anywhere, and presume at best it would be at one of their concession stands.  In both cases, most of the public doesn't know anything about them or their whereabouts and nobody around is likely trained to use them.  I actually doubt that the LPD trains their young Beach Patrol how to use EMILY due to the COL's obsessive fear about liability, that is if they are anywhere to be found when these incidents happen.  These last two critical drowning incidents show that they were nowhere around to help. 

An EMILY unit is practically worthless if there isn't anyone around trained to use it and if it takes several precious minutes to get from storage down to the beach.   Trained lifeguards solve the problem; they can grab EMILY and be in the water in seconds.  They can also warn swimmers of dangerous areas and/or conditions to avoid situations like this.  All we get now is press releases that tell us nothing about why the beach patrol wasn't around and why the EMILY unit was not deployed.