LA PUSH — Three men who died during a rescue were remembered during a memorial on the 20th anniversary of their deaths.
Petty Officer 2nd Class David Bosely, Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew Schlimme and Seaman Clinton Miniken were killed the night of Feb. 12, 1997, off the coast of La Push while responding to a distress call from a dismasted sailboat in treacherous seas.
The trio were assigned to the 44-foot long Motor Life Boat 44363.
Coast Guard Station Quillayute River personnel honored the men Friday with a 21-gun salute in a memorial ceremony that concluded with the laying of a wreath in memoriam of Bosely, Schlimme and Miniken.
Nearly two decades ago, the crew aboard a 31-foot sailboat, the Gale Runner, became trapped during a violent storm in the water off the rugged coast near La Push, according to Coast Guard historians.
The master attempted to escape the storm by sailing to a nearby marina, but that attempt was thwarted when 25-foot waves and 30-knot winds demasted the boat and blew out hatches and portholes.
After the vessel became flooded and the engine failed, it began to drift toward dangerous rock formations nearby.
Desperate, the crew called for help.
First to answer the call was a search and rescue crew from Coast Guard Station Quillayute River.
Within minutes, the four-man crew headed into the tumultuous surf.
As their 44-foot, steel-hulled motor lifeboat crossed the Quillayute River bar and plunged into the storm, a wave rolled the boat.
The boat righted itself and the crew pressed on.
The waves rolled the boat two more times, ripping the superstructure off and leaving three of the four-man crew in the water.
The fourth crewman — Seaman Apprentice Benjamin Wingo — remained tethered to the boat and made it to land after ocean currents pushed the crippled boat onto nearby James Island.
The two people aboard the battered sailboat were later rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter crew moments before the boat struck the rocks.
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Reporter Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.