CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Marine Quentin Gwynn, left, met members of the press and Adam Smith, right (in red), yesterday on the USS Bonhomme Richard at Pearl Harbor. Smith helped Gwynn save the life of Pat Savage, who nearly drowned Monday at Waimea Beach.
Rescuer shown
aloha after theftA Marine who saved
a drowning boy gets help
to replace stolen items
Pat Savage, who nearly drowned at Waimea Beach on Monday while he practiced holding his breath underwater, last remembers seeing his watch register one minute, 40 seconds.
The 16-year-old said yesterday that he and his foster brother Ely Blanchard, 17, were attempting to stay underwater for one minute, 45 seconds.
Savage is recovering at the Queen's Medical Center from his near drowning. He is no longer in the intensive care unit and hopes to be released today.
"I'm still kind of sore. My throat is sore, and I'm still coughing up mucus and stuff," Savage said.
Blanchard and Marine Cpl. Quentin Gwynn pulled Savage from the water onto some rocks where Gwynn and Maryland teenager Adam Smith, 16, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Gwynn and Smith said Savage had no pulse and was not breathing when they started CPR.
The incident happened about 6 p.m., when lifeguards are no longer on duty. Firefighters who responded to the emergency credit Gwynn and Smith for saving Savage's life.
Savage said he regained consciousness as he was being put into an ambulance at the beach.
During the excitement, a backpack containing Gwynn's and his girlfriend's belongings was stolen. A lifeguard found the key to the couple's rented motorcycle in the sand Tuesday. But the backpack and everything else in it, including cash, credit cards, military identification, a camera, a watch and motorcycle helmet, are still missing.
Since the theft was reported, Gwynn said he and his girlfriend, Navy Petty Officer Heather Lenhart, have been overwhelmed with offers of help including money, free hotel stays, free meals and free vehicle rentals from people who heard of their loss.
"The whole community, it's just incredible how much it changed in one night. Going from like getting crapped on to like this shiny day," Gwynn said.
The Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii is assisting the couple and fielding the offers of support.
The couple praises the firefighters at the Sunset Beach Fire Station for feeding them, giving them clothing and storing their rented motorcycle after they discovered the key and their belongings were stolen.
Gwynn, 21, and Lenhart, 20, are assigned to USS Bonhomme Richard, an amphibious assault ship whose crew is on liberty at Pearl Harbor on their return to San Diego from duty in the Arabian Gulf.
Smith is visiting relatives in Mililani. He said he learned CPR in April for his summer job as a lifeguard at a swimming pool in Baltimore. Smith and his family return home today.
Gwynn welcomed Smith and his family aboard the Bonhomme Richard yesterday for a look at the Harrier jets he helps keep in operation. Smith, who will be a high school junior in the fall, said he wants to attend the Naval Academy when he graduates.
