Balloonists’ rescuers readily
forgo holiday fun

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

The 14-member crew of the Coast Guard cutter Washington gave up holiday parties, football tickets and quality Christmas time with their families to join in the rescue of three balloonists who ditched off Oahu yesterday.

But there were no complaints as duty called, a sentiment expressed by Bill Snell, the Washington's quartermaster and assistant navigator.

"That's what they pay us for; that's what we do," said Snell, who had planned on spending a quiet morning at home with his wife, Sarah Foster-Snell.

Instead, they were spending it together on the Washington, since Foster-Snell works for Coast Guard public affairs and was aboard.

If he had any reservations, Snell said, "then I shouldn't be in the Coast Guard.

"In addition to being a military service, we're a humanitarian service."

The 110-foot Washington is one of the smaller ships of the Coast Guard's 14th Division, and its primary search-and-rescue platform.

It left Sand Island shortly before 8 a.m. yesterday to rendezvous with the balloonists about 10 miles northeast of Kahuku Point.

The six-hour round trip was a rocky ride through 6- to 8-foot waves which -- coupled with the speed and lightness of the vessel -- caused many of the eight journalists on board to succumb fully to seasickness.

Regular crew members didn't suffer similarly, including James Clark, the ship's off-day officer, who had only three hours of sleep the night before after being informed at about 5 p.m. Thursday that the balloon may be going down later that evening.

Clark, who is single, had plans to attend yesterday's college bowl doubleheader at Aloha Stadium.

Even if he got back in time to catch a good portion of the game, he said, he would probably be too tired to get there.

"That's all right," Clark said. "I'd rather be out here."

Petty Officer 1st class Brian Petermeier, the ship's electrician, was to spend the day with his wife and two children, one of them 2 years old and the other, 4 months.

Fortunately, his children are too young to understand the meaning of Christmas morning, Petermeier reflected while shrugging off the sacrifice.

"When else do you get to spend Christmas like this?" he said.

The comments were echoed by David Santos, the 14th Division's chief public affairs specialist.

"You'll find during a search-and-rescue mission like this, where you're saving people's lives, it's a great feeling, particularly during the holidays," Santos said.

"It's very rewarding and makes you reflect on why you joined the service," he said.

Snell expressed some disappointment that the Washington ended up playing only a minor role in the rescue, since the balloonists were plucked from the ocean by two Coast Guard helicopters.

Divers from the Washington helped the balloonists get into the choppers' litters in the high surf, and assisted in salvaging the balloon's emergency beacon.

But the bottom line, Snell said, was that the three men were safe.

Lt. Timothy Ciampaglio, who held a steady and efficient presence while captaining the ship, agreed.

"It's always a good day when you save somebody's life," Ciampaglio said. "And today we saved three."