THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 13, 1995 TAG: 9512130390
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
A rarely used privilege of the Coast Guard's commandant - to promote people on the spot - has been invoked in the case of a young rescue swimmer who gained national attention a year ago for rescuing a family of four from the stormy Atlantic.
But it wasn't the courage or strength Aviation Survivalman 2nd Class Mario M. Vittone showed by jumping from a helicopter into the churning waters to save the family - including a 4-month-old boy - that caused Adm. Robert E. Kramek to promote him from petty officer 3rd class.
It was the manner in which Vittone has carried himself since the Nov. 17, 1994, rescue.
``The commandant felt that what he has done over the past year goes well beyond what we expect of a 3rd-class petty officer in terms of his role as an ambassador for the Coast Guard,'' said Cmdr. Ernest Del Bueno, a press assistant to Kramek.
Vittone, 30, still assigned to the Coast Guard's Elizabeth City Air Station, has appeared on the CBS Evening News, the Paul Harvey Show, the Coast Guard Foundation ceremony in New York City, in The Washington Post and The New York Times, and at awards banquets, including a congressional reception in Washington for the Association for Rescue at Sea, to tell of his adventures, particularly last year's family rescue.
``You have been an articulate and knowledgeable Coast Guard representative, exemplifying the true professional,'' said Kramek in his citation to Vittone.
``I witnessed several of your speeches and was moved by the standing ovations you received.
``I was constantly impressed by the acclaim which many senior officials, from private industry and the public, extended concerning your performance and eloquence in conveying the Coast Guard's humanitarian spirit,'' he wrote.
``I was floored. I had no idea,'' Vittone said of Kramek's decision to promote him. ``I thought maybe he was giving me the achievement medal, or something.''
The on-the-spot promotion, unheard of in the Coast Guard in perhaps 30 years, brings with it a couple hundred dollars more a month in pay.
It also returns Vittone to the rate he had when he left the Navy about 10 years ago. He spent six years in the Navy before transferring to the Coast Guard.
Vittone's only concern about his advancement is that he may have bumped a couple of others from their scheduled promotions.
``The advancement is competitive,'' he said. ``You take a test with 50 others, and about one is advanced every six months. I'm afraid they will be mad I took their spot.''
Vittone, as well as other crew mates on the helicopter, were awarded the Coast Guard's top aviation award for the family's rescue during Hurricane Gordon. The Ira Hubbard family was aboard the 64-foot sailboat Marine Flower II, sailing from Norfolk to Bermuda when they encountered 25-foot seas about 360 miles east of the Virginia coast.
Vittone jumped from his helicopter and waited in the foamy water below, motioning for the mother, Flor Ruiz, to jump from the sailboat into the sea. The helicopter hovering above couldn't lift them from the boat.
Vittone grabbed mother and child, whose tiny life jacket was tethered to hers. He held the infant as high out of the water as arms could stretch while the woman scrambled into a metal basket. She reached for her son and pulled him to safety.
The woman's 13-year-old daughter, Laura Valencia, and husband, Ira Hubbard, soon took the same route to safety: plunging into the sea, climbing into a basket and riding up into the chopper.
The helicopter carried them to the aircraft carrier America.
The rescue also became the premiere episode of a new television program named ``Coast Guard: The Series'' that aired earlier this year. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
COAST GUARD
Aviation Survivalman 2nd Class Mario M. Vittone, center, receives
his new rate of 2nd class petty officer. At left is the commandant
of the Coast Guard, Adm. Robert E. Kramek. At right is Eric A.
Trent, master chief petty officer of the Coast Guard.
by CNB