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It was a calm day on the Fort Lauderdale Intracoastal Waterway. The sky was clear on a busy Sunday afternoon in the water. However, for Frank Mauro, he did not know it was going to change his life forever.

He was 42 at the time and working as a customer consultant for GraphTec — a defunct commercial printing company. Mauro was also a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary — a volunteer organization that worked in tandem with the Coast Guard.

The day was April 6, 1997. A group of 11 tourists on a Bayliner boat were enjoying their Sunday on the water, where it would take a turn for the worst. The boat lost power and the current dragged the boat towards the barge.

“We were on patrol,” Mauro said. “We heard these people screaming for help as they were getting sucked under the barge. We needed to do something fast.”

Mauro was on a 41-foot Coast Guard patrol boat with four other crew members. Matt Goodnow was the coxswain — the captain of the boat. As they came on scene, Goodnow gave a signal for the crew to jump in the water to try and save the family. While the crew had to remove their gun belts and holsters, Mauro jumped right in.

“It takes a few minutes to take off your keepers,” Mauro said. “Since I was a volunteer, I was not allowed to have a weapon. I didn’t have one so I jumped right in.”

The boat was sinking and the crew had to something fast. The boat was sucked underneath the barge as the people were trying to jump overboard. The barge was above water because it was full of air. After emptying their tanks of oil, the barge becomes lighter. While the barges were waiting for their next assignment, it sat high on the water.

“The circumstances for this to happen were perfect,” Mauro said. “The tide was going out, the current was taking the boat into the barge. They could not have been better for this to happen.”

He and four others on that boat jumped into the water to save nine of the 11 people trapped on the boat. For his work, he was awarded the Gold Life Saving Medal — one of the highest honors for a volunteer in the Coast Guard.

After his heroics, the United States Department of Transportation commended him for his work and asked if there was anything he could do to help him. Mauro’s response was short and direct.

“I want to be in the Coast Guard.”

And on August 28, 1997, he got his wish and stayed with them for the next twenty years.