The catastrophic flooding in Central Texas is one of the worst natural disasters in recent memory. According to the most recent numbers, there are at least 90 individuals dead or missing, including nearly 30 children.

It is a catastrophe that will leave its mark on the region for generations to come.

As the full extent of the destruction and loss of life begins to reveal itself, there has been an international outpouring of help. Firefighters from Mexico traveled to the Texas Hill Country to aid in the recovery efforts. And the United States Coast Guard, of course, was among the first to arrive to help save lives.

Within the ranks of the U.S. Coast Guard, one hero saved so many lives on his first rescue mission the Department of Homeland Security posted a tribute to him on social media.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Scott Ruskan, a Rescue Swimmer and aviation survival technician 3rd class stationed in Corpus Christi, is being hailed as a hero after saving 165 individuals caught in the Texas Hill Country flooding.

National Hero, U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Scott Ruskan

After Homeland Security shared the story of Scott Ruskan on X (formerly known as Twitter), details quickly began to emerge about his past.

Newsweek shared some details about his past, stating “Petty Officer Ruskan is from New Jersey and used to be a KPMG accountant. He enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in 2021. After completing rescue swimmer training, he was stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas.”

They included a quote from the Post provided by Scott Ruskan about the mission where he said “this is what it’s all about. This is why we do the job.”

What The U.S. Coast Guard Was Doing In Texas Hill Country

Far from the ocean, it might seem a bit odd that the United States Coast Guard assisted on the rescue efforts. Scott Ruskan shed some light on that.

He told the Post “that’s a little bit outside our area of operation normally, but people were in danger, and we’re a good asset to try and help people out, and these guys were asking for help, so that’s kind of what we do.”

He was primarily saving lives around Camp Mystic in Cypress Lake where young campers lost their lives, including the 9-year-old niece of Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt.

Ruskan said “we basically got the majority of the people out of Camp Mystic, which is awesome. And I feel like we did a lot of good that day, but obviously it’s still super sad. There’s still a lot of people missing and unaccounted for, so the mission’s not over yet. It’s not over for us.”

The phrase ‘American Hero’ can get tossed around too easily these days. But in this case, everyone everywhere can recognize that Scott Ruskan’s work was heroic. 165 lives saved from Camp Mystic is a borderline miracle.

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