Rupert man becomes only 20th recipient of the Cross of Valour

A local Coast Guard officer has been recognized for his efforts in a rescue of two boaters back in 2004. Les Palmer, the first officer of the Coast Guard vessel Point Henry will receive the Cross of Valour at a ceremony in Ottawa in October.


The story of the rescue as recounted in the Coast Guard publication shorelines, is a tale of horrible conditions, desperate men stranded and a dedicated coast guard crew, working to save their lives. It all reads like a Hollywood movie script or one of those Reader’s Digest stories.

The National Post had the tale as a feature story in its September 1st edition.


The Daily News had full details from a local perspective in its Thursday edition, with a front page story.





LOCAL MAN HONOURED WITH NATIONAL AWARD
By James Vassallo
The Daily News
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Pages One and Two

A Coast Guard officer from Prince Rupert has been recognized with Canada’s highest award for bravery. Les Palmer, the CCG Point Henry’s first officer, is now only the 20th person in history to receive the Cross of Valour for his efforts in a 2004 rescue of two boaters.

“The conditions that night were extreme,” said Palmer.

“We’re not used to working in temperatures that were probably minus -30 and winds blowing from 80 to 100 knots.

“When we started out that night with those weather conditions and with the location the Rescue Centre told us, I pretty much knew what their condition would be if they made it to shore.”

The F/V Larissa had began taking on ice as it entered Greenville Channel.

A huge wind had rocked the vessel and it began taking on water forcing two fishermen aboard to head for shore.

“as we got down there the weather was deteriorating worse, temperatures were dropping and the Point Henry was icing up,” said Palmer.

“A freighter was going by and they thought they had seen a light on beach.”

“I thought ‘okay, there are people alive,’ – all we knew from the Rescue Centre is their beeper had gone off. We didn’t know if it was accidental trippage or what.

“We (now) knew it was a real thing going on, there was somebody on the beach and we had to make it to shore.”

Palmer was dropped off in a rubber boat to rescue the two men. He made three half mile hikes in hip-deep snow, icy rocky terrain and in the face of storm-force northeasterlies between the stranding site and location where he was able to land his equipment. He then offered medical care to two hypothermic survivors for several hours before the Coast Guard ship John P. Tully arrived.

“Being in Rupert all my life and being with the Coast Guard for 21 years, I’ve probably done over 700 (Search and Rescue) incidents, a lot have been good and a lot have been bad,” he said. “With those kind of conditions, it was really nice to have a positive result and have the two people survive.

“Myself and the crew we were pretty proud of what we did.”

While Palmer says he’s truly honoured to receive the award, it belongs to more than him,

“The outcome wouldn’t have happened without the rest of the crew, Coast Guard procedures, the rescue centre and the John P. Tully which came in at the end to make it a success. Those guys were able to go home to their families and I was able to home to mine,” he said. “I’m happy to accept if for myself and on behalf of the Coast Guard, but that’s what we’re here for – to rescue lives and help out where we can.”

The Cross of Valour will be presented at an awards ceremony in Ottawa on Oct. 13.