Growing up in Delaware, I spent a few weeks every summer at Dewey Beach. I recall seeing a 44-foot motor lifeboat from Indian River Inlet Station on patrol and then working with an HH-52A helicopter from Air Station Cape May, N.J.
Over the radio, I learned that some folks were rescued by the Coast Guard that day and that I had probably seen part of the rescue procedure. One summer, a high school friend and his father were fishing in the Atlantic about 12 miles offshore when their boat sank. They were ultimately saved by the Coast Guard and that made a distinct impression on me.