WESTPORT — A Coast Guard Medal has been presented to Petty Officer First Class Jacob Hylkema, a boatswain’s mate at Coast Guard Station Grays Harbor.
Hylkema was presented with the medal during a ceremony at the station’s base in Westport on Friday for putting his life at risk during the rescue of a sailor caught in a storm off the Long Beach Peninsula in Washington, according to a press release.
The Coast Guard Medal is the third highest award that a Coast Guardsman can be awarded during peacetime.
The Coast Guard Unit Commendation Award was presented to the unit for the three rescues unit personnel conducted on the night of Oct. 6, 2016, where nine people were rescued in three separate search and rescue cases during a 20-hour period.
Hylkema jumped into 18- to 20-foot breaking surf during the rescue of the sailing vessel Grace that night.
