African-American lifesavers honored in film

What: Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi will premier the documentary “RESCUE MEN: The Story of the Pea Island Surfmen.” There will also be a question and answer session with the film’s co-producer David Wright.

The documentary focuses on the story of Station 17 of the U.S. Life Saving Service (a predecessor of the Coast Guard) located on the desolate beaches of Pea Island, N.C. Manned by a crew of seven African-Americans, the station was led by a former slave and Civil War veteran, Richard Etheridge, who was the only black man to lead a lifesaving crew. He recruited and trained Benjamin Bowser, Louis Wescott, William Irving, George Pruden, Maxie Berry and Herbert Collins to form the only all-black station in the nation. Although civilian attitudes toward Etheridge and his men ranged from curiosity to outrage, they figured among the most courageous surfmen in the Service by performing many daring rescues from 1880 to the closing of the station in 1947.

When: 12:30 p.m., March 3, 2010.

Where: Wings Auditorium in the Naval Air Station at Corpus Christi.

Who: Wright and Coast Guard members will be available for interviews.

*** For access to the base, please contact Lt. Stephen Bor at (361) 888-3162 ext. 202, no later than 4 p.m. Tuesday, to arrange for security screening and clearance.***

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