Lt. Cmdr. Ken Sabol, Nuclear Regional Maintenance Department Officer-in- Charge, awards Machinists Mate First Class Kenneth Bennett with the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal at Naval Submarine Base New London. Bennett saved the lives of two boaters from a New Hampshire lake in April.

photo by MM1 Steven Myers

Machinists Mate First Class Kenneth Bennett, assigned to the Nuclear Regional Maintenance Department (NRMD) of Naval Submarine Support Facility at Naval Submarine Base New London, was awarded a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal Sept. 30 for his role in saving the lives of two boaters at Lake Winnepocket, near Webster, New Hampshire, on April 18.

“With all the firefighting and emergency training we get,” said Lt. Cmdr. Ken Sabol, NRMD Officer-in-Charge, “I think it gives us a little step above what the average civilian has. I think it gives us a little more courage and a little more ‘this is the right thing to do’ and then to go ahead and fix the situation.”

While driving down an adjacent road, Kenneth, a native of Denver, Colorado, and his father-in-law, Ronald Finlayson, who lives near the lake, observed two men in distress holding onto a tipped canoe fifty feet from shore.

“My first thought when I realized they were in trouble, was to figure out how to save them,” Kenenth said. “So we headed down to the boat dock to find a way.”

They got into the nearest small boat and rushed to the aid of the two men who had been in 38 degree water for thirty minutes and exhibited signs of hypothermia. Kenneth and Ronald got the two men onto the boat and back to shore.

While his father-in-law contacted emergency services, Kenneth did what he could to help the men.

“All we had was an old tarp at the dock, so I wrapped them in it to save as much body heat as I could,” he said.

The City of Webster recognized the heroic efforts of Kenneth and Ronald with a plaque presented at a town meeting.

According to the Navy citation, Kenneth’s courage, tenacity, and personal interest in others over self, reflected great credit upon him and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.