10/14/2026
On October 11, 1896, the crew of the U.S. Life-Saving Station at Pea Island carried out a heroic nighttime rescue after the schooner “E. S. Newman” wrecked in a storm. With the surf too rough for boats and the beach equipment unusable, the lifesavers swam out to the wreck 10 times, each trip pulling survivors to safety.
These brave African-American surfmen weren’t formally recognized until 1996, when their descendants received Gold Lifesaving Medals in a Washington, D.C. ceremony, honoring the extraordinary courage shown a century earlier.
Image: Pea Island Life-Saving Station crew that performed the rescue. Keeper Richard Etheridge (on left) and his crew, Benjamin Bowser, Dorman Pugh, Theodore Meekins, Lewis Wescott, Stanley Wise and William Irving, in front of their station, circa 1896. (Image courtesy US Coast Guard).
