It was Petty Officer Scott Ruskan's first Coast Guard mission that earned him the title of a hero.
Ruskan, who graduated from Coast Guard Swim School just six months prior, helped rescue 165 people from torrential floods surrounding Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas.
"There [were] a lot of kids who are probably having the worst day of their lives. They're missing friends, they're missing loved ones, they don't know where they are," he told CNN.
"It was pretty traumatic."
The county's lowlands along the Guadalupe River are filled with youth camps and campgrounds, including Camp Mystic, the century-old, all-girls Christian summer camp.
With fear of the unknown weighing heavily on the girls' minds, the 26-year-old said his main priority was to comfort the scared campers and get them to safety quickly.
"A lot of the kids didn't even have shoes on. I was just carrying them into the helicopter because they were stepping on wet rocks."
'I had a job to do'
Bridges and roadways were overcome by floodwaters, and the water was too high for boat rescues; his only option was to help airlift the campers to safety.
Without radio reception to the outside for three hours, Ruskan stayed focused on his mission and helped lift people in groups of 10-15.
A lot of them were scared girls who were attending the summer camp, worried about the safety of their family and friends.
"I had a job to do. Any fear and stuff I had inside, I just pushed it to the side," he said.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called Ruskan "an American hero" in a post on X, though like all good heroes, Ruskan said he was just doing his job, one that "anyone" could have done.
He said it was the young girls he helped save who truly deserved the praise.
"You guys were so brave and tough, and it made me a better rescuer because you guys were acting so bravely," he said, addressing the girls.
Officials said at least 160 people are still believed to be missing in Texas, days after flash floods killed over 100 people during the July Fourth weekend.
At least 27 campers and counsellors died at Camp Mystic, and five campers and one counsellor have still not been found.
Rescue teams continue search
Search-and-rescue teams have been using heavy equipment to untangle and peel away layers of trees, unearth large rocks in riverbanks and move massive piles of debris that stretch for miles in the search for the missing people.
Crews in airboats, helicopters, and on horseback along with hundreds of volunteers, are part of one of the largest search operations in Texas history.
Outside the cabins at Camp Mystic where the girls had slept, mud-splattered blankets and pillows were scattered on a grassy hill that slopes toward the river.
Also in the debris were pink, purple and blue luggage decorated with stickers.
Among those who died at the camp were a second grader who loved pink sparkles and bows, a 19-year-old counsellor who enjoyed mentoring young girls and the camp's 75-year-old director.
The flash floods erupted in the early hours on Friday after massive rains sent water speeding down hills into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise 8 metres in less than an hour.
The wall of water overwhelmed people in cabins, tents and trailers along the river's edge. Some survivors were found clinging to trees.
Some campers had to swim out of cabin windows to safety, while others held onto a rope as they made their way to higher ground.
Questions mounted about what, if any, actions local officials took to warn campers and residents who were spending the July Fourth weekend in the scenic area long known to locals as "flash flood alley".
Leaders in Kerr County, where searchers have found about 90 bodies, said their priority was recovering victims, not reviewing what happened in the hours before the flash floods.
ABC/wires
