Amid a tumultuous nor’easter swell and a full moon high tide on a Sunday evening in August 2024, Hugh Shields timed his entry into the churning waters of Barnegat Inlet before swimming toward two fishermen trapped atop a Coast Guard tower and in need of rescue.
Shields helps prepare a fisherman for his rescue from the Coast Guard tower.
“I was sitting down to dinner with my parents when the call came in,” said Shields, a member of the Barnegat Light Volunteer Fire Co., a borough lifeguard and college senior who recently turned 22.
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