Army SFC Nickolas Clarke keeps Saving the World.
Nickolas Clarke never thought he would save someone from drowning twice in his life, let alone in the same location. But while visiting the beach on Labor Day with his family, he and another bystander jumped in the rough water to save a young boy.
“You would never expect in a million years for that to happen again,” Clarke said. “It happens quick; you either do something or you don’t.”
The Army Ranger saved two people from drowning on the same beach on Oklaoosa Island in 2014. He was awarded the Soldier’s Medal, the Army’s highest award for heroism outside of combat.
Although Clarke retired in 2015, his military training and instincts stayed intact and helped him save yet another person this week.
It was about 3 p.m. Monday and red flags were flying as strong rip currents formed ahead of Tropical Storm Gordon. Clarke was sitting on the beach with his two children when he heard a lady yell for help.
“She was screaming ‘Somebody help my kid,’ ” Clarke said. “I looked over and that’s when I saw him out pretty far. I saw just a head in the waves.”
Without hesitation, Clarke and Sgt. Cody Patterson, an airman from Eglin Air Force Base, jumped in the water and grabbed the boy. They struggled to keep their heads above the waves and went under several times, but kept the boy’s head above the water.
By the time the men were able to stand, lifeguards had arrived and helped them to shore. Firefighters examined the boy and released him back to his family.
Monday was a busy day for lifeguards on Okaloosa Island, according to Okaloosa County Beach Safety Division Chief Rich Huffnagle. Although there were only two rescues, the lifeguards spent the day explaining to people on the beach the hazards of the rip currents.
Moments before Clarke and Patterson’s rescue, lifeguards pulled another person from the water nearby.
Clarke is still recovering from a broken neck, dislocated shoulder and injured back he received in an accident while in the Army. Monday’s rescue left him with back pain, but he said it was all worth it.
“Even if I had one leg and a missing arm, I’d still go out there,” Clarke said.
Category: Politics
Give him and his buddy medals. And give a boot to the head to the dipsticks that decided to go swimming in the ocean during an approaching storm.
The mother that let her kid get near the water gets 2 boots to the head.
Dumbasses.
I wholeheartedly concur and if Double Red Flags were flying I’d be all in favor of fining the dingbat Momma who let her kids get in the water!
A BIG thank you to SFC Clarke and Sgt. Patterson!
Setting the example, and then some!
Nicky Cee is now retired, but was an Army Ranger Instructor at Florida Phase when I met him. He stayed in the area after retirement, raining hell with the rest of the Rangers in the area. He is a top shelf person.
“raining hell”? Um, no. “raising hell”.
Oh, I kind of like ‘raining hell’, Frankie!
From his actions, I suspect he can both raise hell and rain hell whenever he has a mind to.
Good job, Ranger.
Rip tides. Red flags. Good job, Mom, especially in yelling “Somebody help my kid.” Some people come upon danger and run. Others whip out their cell phones and start recording. A few act and actually do something. In this instance, the few numbered two: Clarke and Patterson.
Jeez! What are the odds being in the same place/same situation TWICE!?! Give the man another Soldier’s Medal….and a wheelbarrow for the balls he totes daily
Rip currents are no joke! This past July while vacationing at Myrtle Beach, we saw first hand how they can suck you right out. A lady was pulled out and a guy tried to save her, the lifeguards got her then the guy out. She was ok, but I think he may have had a heart attack or something since they took away in the EMS truck. Our lifeguard looked like she was top tier MMA champion and NO one gave her any lip about going out beyond knee level.
They start posting signs on the beaches at Lake Michigan and warning people before the beaches even open, but some people simply do not pay attention.
The prize for stupidy things goes to the guy who decided to take a dip in Lake Michigan from the concrete walkway near Montrose Harbor and couldn’t get himself out of the water.
Meantime, kudos to SFC Clarke and SGT Patterson for fast thinking.
“Even if I had one leg and a missing arm,” Proves again, Rangers lead the way. BZ SFC Clarke and SGT Patterson.
Mom may have warned the kid, and even been “close” to him, but I’ve seen how fast a kid who doesn’t understand danger can get in danger.
In our Venturing Crew we had a young lady with Asperger’s get danger close to the currents near the jetty, and who did not realize that when I was yelling at her she needed to come back to me. The life guards were enroute when I got to her and got her to shore, where I gave her a rather severe dressing-down that impressed the gravity of the situation upon her. But her handicap factored strongly into her actions.
So, I’m not going to bash the mother here.
Dammit, not again. Unless one is trained in open water rescue, wait for the pros to show up. If that is not an option, at least grab some flotation before you go. Know to swim parallel to the beach until out of the rip- as little as 10 yards.
This could very well have turned into a triple tragedy.
Mr. Clarke, yeah, you’re a ballsy guy and BZ for saving the kid. You’ve used up any luck you might have had at the beach- just go to the local pool next time.