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"With all the firefighting and emergency training we get," said Lt. Cmdr. Ken Sabol, NRMD Officer-in-Charge, "I think it gives us a little step above what the average civilian has. I think it gives us a little more courage and a little more 'this is the right thing to do' and then to go ahead and fix the situation."
While driving down an adjacent road, Bennett, a native of Denver, Co., and his father-in-law, Ronald Finlayson, who lives near the lake, observed two men in duress holding onto a tipped canoe 50 feet from shore.
"My first thought when I realized they were in trouble, was to figure out how to save them," Bennett said. "So we headed down to the boat dock to find a way."
They got into the nearest small boat and rushed to the aid of the two men who had been in 38 degree water for 30 minutes and exhibited signs of hypothermia.
"It was a very interesting trying to get them into the boat," said Bennett. "They were mostly dead weight and we had to be careful not to tip our boat as well. It took a while but we managed to get back to shore."
While is his father-in-law contacted emergency services, Bennett did what he could to help the men.
"All we had was an old tarp at the dock, so I wrapped them in it to save as much body heat as I could," he said. "They kept talking about a third person in the canoe."
Once the Webster Fire Department and emergency services arrived, they returned to retrieve the overturned canoe from the lake and search for the missing member.
According to Bennett, he was found deceased nearly an hour later. The two rescued men made a full recovery.
Several months ago, the City of Webster recognized the heroic efforts of Bennett and Finlayson with a plaque presented at a town meeting.
According to the Navy citation, Bennett's courage, tenacity, and personal interest in others over self reflected great credit upon him and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
