VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A student from the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit Oceana is being credited for saving the life of a young boy who got caught in a rip current.
It happened at the Dam Neck Annex beaches in Virginia Beach on June 30, according to a press release from the U.S. Navy.
Aviation Electronics Technician Airman Michael Y. Yang, of Savannah, Georgia, was serving as a lifeguard at the time. He saw the 9-year-old swimming about 20 yards offshore and noticed the boy could be in danger.
Yang, 21, said the strong current pulled the boy into deeper water. That's when Yang sprinted and swam out to the boy who had been yelling in between swallowing water.
“When I got to him, I jammed the [lifeguard rescue] can into his chest and shouted at him to hold the can but he wasn’t responding or grabbing it, so I grabbed his body with my left arm and kept him tight on the can with my right arm while executing a combat sidestroke kicking toward shore,” Yang said.
Yang said the child blacked out from exhaustion but came to when they got to shore.
Yang stayed with the boy until medical personnel arrive to take him to a hospital with his family. The boy was last listed in "stable" condition.
Officials said Yang has been a lifeguard since high school and continued to serve after joining the Navy in Aug. 2019.
"Yang has honorably served in the Navy for the past four years and wants to become a civilian pilot," the Navy said. "He has since transferred to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 32 and in the future he plans to go to Baylor University in Texas."
