“We’ve been friends forever, that’s just a part of always having each other’s back and doing everything together,” says Zachary Haugen of his best friend, Jake Watson.
The Carnegie Medal is the highest honor given to civilians. Two Valley teens received the award along with 18 others.
Zachary Haugen and Jake Watson have been the best of friends since childhood. The duo have created countless memories over the years. And now there’s a new one.
Saving two lives in July of 2020 just off the coast of San Diego.
The boys were on vacation, visiting Sunset Cliffs which is a popular sightseeing destination for tourists to watch dusk fall along the California coastline.
It’s a stunning sight to behold.
And that’s when Zachary looked down and saw two girls in the water getting thrown around by the waves.
“My flip flops were off, and I was in the water before I even had a second to think about it,” he said.
Two girls, one 18 years old and the other 11, found themselves swept into the raging waters from a low-lying cliff. They were surrounded by the rocky cove, fighting to stay above water.
So Zachary, being a trained lifeguard, was the first one in the raging waters.
“I grab them, and I start swimming them towards this cliff where the water meets the rock,” Zachary narrated.
Then a large swell violently separates the three with the waves pushing Zach towards the jagged rocks. Now it’s him fighting the current.
“That’s when Jake is up on top of the cliff asking me if he should come in and I’m shaking my head yes, you know come in come in,” said Zachary.
Jake immediately jumps in without fear for his own life.
He soon had the little girl on his back. Jake found a corner where he was able to find his footing, allowing him to step up and muscle the girl over his shoulder. What a brave lad.
As the boys rescued the two girls, lifeguards arrived with other people now taking a video of the scene.
Once the girls were safe, the 11-year-old’s mother hugged both boys.
“It was probably one of the best hugs I’ve ever received, and she was just crying saying thank you, thank you, thank you,” said Zachary.
Zachary and Jake say that they were just there at the right moment and at the right time. Though to be honest, not everyone is brave enough to jump in raging waters, even if someone’s life depended on it.
The teenagers may have experienced fear but it was their courage they chose to act on. And that saved two lives that day.
The boys were just 16 and 15 at the time of the rescue.
You can see them holding the girls’ hands once they were safely on the rocks, just reassuring them that they’re safe, that they won’t fall back in anymore. Amazing what selflessness can do.
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