During the State of the Union on Tuesday night, President Trump honored Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan for saving over 100 people during the catastrophic July 4, 2025 floods in Central Texas.
“It was July 4th of last year, when floodwaters tore through a girl’s summer camp in Central Texas, one of the worst things I’ve ever seen,” the president said Tuesday night. “I was there. Rising 26 feet in a matter of minutes, tragically claiming many, many lives. You all remember that one.”
In the early hours of July 4, 2025, catastrophic flash flooding struck Central Texas as the Guadalupe River rose rapidly, sweeping through the Texas Hill Country and catching many off guard. More than 130 people were killed, including 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic, a girls’ summer camp along the river. Emergency crews worked amid dangerous conditions and renewed flood threats.
As the Guadalupe River surged in Texas on the Fourth of July, then 26-year-old New Jersey native Ruskan flew with his U.S. Coast Guard team through severe weather to get to Camp Mystic, where hundreds were trapped.
“As the waters threatened to sweep her away, 11-year-old Millie Cate McClymond closed her eyes and prayed to God. She thought she was going to die,” Mr. Trump said. “Those prayers were answered when Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan descended from a helicopter above — nobody knew where he came from. It was Scott’s first ever rescue mission, young guy, very brave, very, very top — always top of his class — and he lifted, not just Millie Cate, but 164 others to safety.”
Ruskan was sworn in to the U.S. Coast Guard while at Rider University during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. His mother and aunt previously told CBS News that he went to college for accounting but quickly realized saving lives was his calling.
“People watched Scott from a distance, and they couldn’t believe what they were seeing,” the president said. “The winds were blowing, the rain was pouring, everything was going and that rapid water — nobody’s ever seen anything like it — they said, ‘wow, that’s something… Tonight, Scott and Millie Cate are here together, reunited for the very first time.”
The president awarded Ruskan with the Legion of Merit for extraordinary heroism.
Leave a Reply