By Dan King
A group of seven area maritime veterans, including two from Whitehall and one from Granville, will be recognized tomorrow by the New York State Naval Militia for their service.
The Josephthal Award is given annually to one “unit” and one “individual” in the New York State Naval Militia as a way of recognizing their dedication to the volunteer first-responder group and the communities they serve. This year the “unit” recipient will be a group of seven from the New York State Naval Militia Northern Command, which consists of the area from north of Peekskill to the Canadian border.
The unit consists of Steve Gauci and Don Hart of Whitehall, Butch Hurlburt of Granville, Robert Marrisseau of Albany, Bob Hill of Latham, Calvin Cumm of Essex and Garrett Aldershoff of Scotia.
Serving the public
Many may not know that the Naval Militia even exists, nor that it has a strong presence in Whitehall, but it certainly does.
The entirely volunteer group of retired members of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard serves as a line of first response for a variety of aquatic dangers, something as common as someone struggling to swim and needing to be rescued or something as extreme as a terrorist plot.
“We get tasked by the Governor to help out with emergencies,” Hurlburt said. “We also do patrols and training, and what we look for on patrol is places where terrorists could play games. Terrorism isn’t necessarily about mass killings, it’s about trying to change your way of life.”
While training, Hurlburt said, the group is constantly patrolling the Champlain Canal, Lake Champlain and other bodies of water in northern New York.
“We’re always training and patrolling, areas like the Fort Ti Ferry and the Essex Ferry are big ones too,” Hurlburt added.
Gauci said that while the militia is in constant contact with the Coast Guard in Burlington, and tries to keep in constant contact with local firefighters and police, sometimes the militia itself has to be first response.
He referred to an incident earlier this summer when the group helped rescue a woman from drowning in Lake Champlain.
“We were just out on our patrol and we noticed something floating,” he said. “And as we got closer, we noticed it was a girl and that her life preserver was up over her head. That was just a case of right place, right time.”
Although there are instances where they may stumble upon an incident during a patrol, a majority of the group’s action comes from commands from the Governor.
Gauci said that when Hurricane Sandy struck he was deployed to Indian Point near New York City for nine months of “full-time active duty.”
Northern Command of the Naval Militia keeps a vessel, called the PB-221, docked on the Champlain Canal near the Whitehall Volunteer Fire Co. when it’s not in use. Gauci said that allows the group to be in the water and ready to go within minutes of a call or crisis.
Plaque presentation
When members of the group received word that they would be receiving this year’s Josephthal Award, they decided it would be interesting to host the award ceremony in the Birthplace of the U.S. Navy. They also thought it would be good to donate their plaque to the Skenesborough Museum, to add to its extensive Navy section.
The plaque will be displayed above the display dedicated to former Navy Capt. William P. Potter, who is famous for his role in the “Great White Fleet,” a Navy fleet that circumvented the world from 1907-1909, as a way of showing off America’s military prowess.
“It’s really cool in the sense that we can have this ceremony in the Birthplace of the U.S. Navy, so we decided it was a good idea to donate the plaque to the museum,” said Gauci.
The award ceremony and presentation of the plaque will be held tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Skenesborough Museum. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m. The group said the event will be open to the public and they hope to hold a small gathering afterward at American Legion Post 83.
Any former Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard member interested in joining the New York State Naval Militia is welcome to, as long as they can pass a physical and are under the age of 67. Enrollment sheets can be picked up from members of the militia and more information can be found at www.dmna.ny.gov/nynm.