The Captain Frank A. Erickson Award is presented to Sector North Bend crew of CGNR 6559, LT Wiest, LT Jones, AMT2 Caristo, and AST3 Morris, in recognition of their heroic efforts on 14 February 2017, responding to two people trapped inside a waterline cave near Yachats, Oregon. The crew of 6559 conducted a coastal search and observed a State Trooper lying on his stomach at the top of a 50 foot sheer cliff illuminating a cave entrance with a flashlight. Shortly thereafter, a survivor emerged, plunged into the 50 degree water and began frantically waving his arms. LT Jones immediately recognized that only 10 minutes of on scene flight time remained. Noting that high tide would not return for another two hours the crew made the difficult decision to return to Air Facility Newport to refuel. This ultimately allowed the crew more time to evaluate the treacherous hoisting area inundated with 30 knot turbulent winds and 8 foot crashing waves.

Upon returning to the scene, it was determined that the safest place to deploy the Rescue Swimmer was to a small group of rocks at water level directly outside the cave opening. Since the prevailing winds were from the South, LT Wiest, in the left seat, conducted the hoists with the unobstructed visibility of the rising terrain. Despite widely varying power requirements and blinding headlights from vehicles transiting on an adjacent highway, LT Wiest maintained a 200 foot hover with the assistance of LT Jones handling all external communications and monitoring aircraft systems to ensure helicopter limitations were not exceeded. Visually impaired by darkness and distance, AMT2 Caristo carefully managed the large swing arc and kept AST3 Morris and the hoist cable from impacting the knife edge cliff. Executing the hoists with the hoisting door away from the cliff, AMT2 Caristo precisely deployed AST3 Morris to the targeted group of rocks. Without hesitation, AST3 Morris disconnected from the hoist hook and made his way to the cave entrance. AST3 Morris struggled through chest deep water and breaking surf with only a small flashlight to reach the cave entrance and the barely visible victim. Upon reaching the first survivor, AST3 Morris quickly calmed the frantic young man as he tried to assess the deteriorating situation. The survivor was extremely hypothermic, bleeding from head to toe, with large cuts and gouges on his legs.

The survivor informed AST3 Morris that his friend had fallen into the water and that he jumped in after him in an attempt to save his life. The two survivors stayed together for approximately 15 minutes immersed in the cold ocean, when suddenly they were picked up by a large wave, thrown against the sharp rocks, and swept into a cave. Fearing that he could possibly lose the most critical survivor, AST3 Morris trudged 60 feet into the cave to find the second victim. In doing so, AST3 Morris had to blindly navigate sharp rocks and deep crevasses to reach the back of the cavern. Locating and towing the semi-conscious survivor, AST3 Morris, slowly retraced his steps to the cave entrance. He reacquired the first survivor and brought them to the hoisting area. As the helicopter lowered the rescue device, AST3 Morris used all of his physical strength to shield the survivors from the crashing waves. The crew agreed on the utilization of three trail lines, totaling 315 feet, to maintain adequate control of the rescue devices and the recoveries of AST3 Morris and the survivors. After two difficult hoists into the helicopter, the two young men were delivered safely to emergency medical personnel where they made a full recovery.