The beach can be a relaxing spot to bask in the warm sun and feel the soft sand between one's toes, but rip currents on the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Coasts, and even the Great Lakes, this year have claimed dozens of lives and endangered many more swimmers. Air Force 1st Lt Micah Grissom was visiting Princess Beach near Destin, Florida, May 13 when he sprang into action to save the life of a distressed swimmer caught in one of those deadly currents. When Grissom, assigned to the 96th Operations Support Squadron at nearby Eglin Air Force Base, and his wife of three months at the time, Lydia, arrived at Princess Beach, they saw a frantic scene playing out on the sandy shore. People were pointing to the ocean, a woman was on the phone with 911, and a group of people were huddled by the water's edge, looking out As the 25-year-old Colorado native scanned the scene, he saw three swimmers who appeared to be in trouble approximately 20-30 yards away in the deeper water between sandbars.
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