PHOTOS: Danvers, Mass. Coast Guardsman receives award at Great Lakes

MARBLEHEAD, Ohio — Coast Guard Capt. Jeff Ogden (left), commander of Coast Guard Sector Detroit, and Chief Warrant Officer Sean McCarthy (right), commanding officer of Coast Guard Station Marblehead, present Petty Officer 3rd Class Timothy Mirandi (center), of Danvers, Mass., with an engraved plaque and oar in honor of Mirandi having been selected as the recipient of the Sector Detroit Lucien M. Clemons Boat Crewman Award during an awards ceremony at Station Marblehead Oct. 17, 2011.

The award is presented semiannually to the boat crewman whose seamanship, leadership afloat and operational actions best epitomize the Coast Guard's standards for boat crewmen.

Mirandi, 23, said he was surprised to receive the award and showed his humility when he said he thought the entire crew of Station Marblehead deserved the honor.

Although Clemons was the first keeper of the U.S. Lifesaving Service in Marblehead, one of the earliest lifesaving stations on the Great Lakes, this is the first time since the award's inception in 2007 it has been given to someone assigned to Station Marblehead.

McCarthy said Mirandi is one of the best boat coxswains he's ever served with and that Mirandi's exceptional leadership throughout his first weekend as a qualified duty coxswain, spending more than 24 hours underway and responding to seven search and rescue cases in a 72-hour period, propelled him above the competition.

Mirandi will keep the 3-foot oar as a reminder of his accomplishment, and the plaque engraved with his name and previous Clemons award recipients will be displayed at Station Marblehead until a new recipient is selected in January 2012.

U.S. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 1st Class Lauren Jorgensen.

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