Coast Guard Station Fort Macon Fireman James D. Sanders, Jr., prepares for a helicopter training excercise off Atlantic Beach, N.C., aboard a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat out of Station Fort Macon, Friday, May 20, 2016.
An aspiring aviation maintenance technician, Sanders witnessed a pier collapse in Beaufort while he was off duty May 11, 2016, and immediately took action to save the lives of several women who fell in the water.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Nate Littlejohn