Naval Special Warfare Sailors rescue nine from overturned tour boat

Sailors from Naval Special Warfare Boat Team 20 rescue tourists from a capsized boat July 7 in the Delaware River near Philadelphia. U.S. Navy photo by MC1 Tim Miller

Naval Special Warfare Command Public Affairs

(Editor’s note: Special Boat Operator 1st Class Garrett Rodriguez of Maui, Hawaii was one of the Naval Special Warfare

Command Sailors who responded to a distress call when a tour boat capsized in the Delaware River.)

PHILADELPHIA – Sailors from Special Boat Team 20 helped rescue nine people from an overturned tourist boat in the Delaware River on July 7.

According to Philadelphia police, the boat was struck by a barge and capsized, throwing 35 passengers and two crew members in the water.

Twelve Naval Special Warfare boat operators at nearby Penn’s Landing immediately responded to a radio distress call and sped to the scene in small boats to recover people in the river. “We were the first responders,” said 25-year-old Garrett Rodriguez, a special boat operator first class from Maui, Hawaii. “Some of us jumped out and started grabbing people. They were just exhausted, in shock.”

Rodriguez said some of his team members pulled people into boats while others jumped off a jetty and swam to tourists struggling in the water.

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Patrick Perdew, a 33-year-old Louisville, Ky. medic assigned to the boat team, said the nine passengers they rescued didn’t have discernible injuries and were ambulatory when they brought them ashore.

The Navy crew members worked together with the Coast Guard, Philadelphia Police and fire rescue teams.

“We were just happy to help,” said Navy SEAL Capt. Chuck Wolf, the commander of Naval Special Warfare Group Four. “The city responders deserve all of the credit, but our guys really showed why the Navy is ‘America’s Navy: A Global Force for Good,’ and it shows our ability to adapt to our surroundings and assist with any and all situations.”

The boat team was in Philadelphia to attend community relations functions and was preparing to get underway and return to their base in Virginia Beach.

For more information on Naval Special Warfare, visit www.seal.navy.mil or www.sealswcc.com.