Both national and international organizations recognize the Coast Guard and civilian sailors who responded to the deadly 2023 Lahaina fire for heroism at sea.

The International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency that regulates and oversees shipping at sea, awarded five Coast Guard officers and four Good Samaritans with letters of commendation for bravery last month. One of them, Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Marzilli, was also selected by the USO as the Service Member of the Year.

The awards were presented at a ceremony Oct. 18 at the J. Walter Cameron Center in Wailuku. During the ceremony, the Coast Guard also honored 26 local boat captains and crew members who responded aboard the vessels Trilogy II, Marjorie Ann, Reef Explorer and Ali’i Nui and an Expeditions vessel with letters of appreciation Coast Guard Lt. Dylan McCall received a medal of commendation for his service during the incident.

Marzilli received the Coast Guard Medal, the service’s highest award for peacetime valor, earlier this year for his actions on Aug. 8, 2023.

“For a while it was like a few people had just gotten the recognition,” Marzilli told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “But I’m glad I’m finally getting more people the recognition they deserve for their actions, not just mine.”

Other recipients of the recognition included Crissy Lovitt and her wife Emma Nelson, who, along with fellow Maui resident Lashawna Garnier, took over the Expeditions boat to join other civilian crews assisting staff at the Maui Coastal Station to rescue Lahaina residents who ran into the water to escape. the flames that engulfed the city.

“It’s a small-town community and chances were we knew people there — and we knew people there,” Lovitt said. “So it felt good to know that we stepped forward to help people in our community.”

High winds on August 8, 2023 not only spread the flames faster than normal, but also made it too dangerous for helicopters to fly.

As the fire consumed Lahaina, the Coast Guard received calls for help. But as Coast Guard Sector Honolulu Commanding Officer Capt. Aja Kirksey assembled her team, she soon realized she was unable to send air support and most of her cutters were further eight hours away from the unfolding disaster. Instead, the Coast Guard would have to rely on small crews from Maui and the few small boats they had.

The service put out an appeal asking all sailors who were able to assist. Responders joined Coast Guard personnel as they navigated strong winds, thick smoke and floating debris in Lahaina Harbor, coordinated by radio to search for survivors and fish from the water and rescued people who remained stranded along the shore.

Marzilli and Travis DeWater, a rescue swimmer aboard the Trilogy II, entered the water themselves with surfboards, paddling to port. In announcing the awards, the International Maritime Organization described how the pair, with the help of the Expeditions ship, “directly contributed to the safety and survival of more than 40 people caught in the fire.”

In total, the makeshift flotilla rescued 17 people in the harbor and rescued 40 survivors along the shore.

Kirksey wrote in her letter to Lovitt: “I cannot express the immense admiration and appreciation my team and I felt when you responded to the call to help us save lives in treacherous conditions. You fearlessly navigated through thick smoke and intense flames to aid our response efforts… The decision to put yourself in harm’s way was not only a contribution to our mission, it was a lifeline to those who had lost everything. “

Lovitt and Nelson, who were preparing to start organizing whale watching tours, were forced to commandeer the Expeditions ship as their own boats had been destroyed.

“We basically just started our business and lost everything,” Lovitt said.

But with the help of friends, family and donations from those who heard their story, they were gradually able to buy new boats and rebuild their business.

“We were able to use the equipment we could acquire and got a job in Lahaina cleaning the shore,” she explained. “It was a very big deal. And, you know, it’s kind of full circle that we had nothing, we lost everything, and then we were able to acquire more equipment, which in turn was used to help clean up Lahaina.”

When the rescuers gathered last month in Wailuku to receive their awards and recognition, Marzilli said it was a strange experience. They knew each other mostly as voices on the radio or shouting between boats through the smoke and darkness. They knew names and they knew boats, but few of them knew the faces of the others who were there that day.

“We kind of bonded. “There were immediate connections made between people, but when we were done with the events, none of us recognized each other,” Marzilli said. “We were all in the room there … and none of us were talking to each other until we were all called. up… it was such a surreal moment. If we had passed on the street, we wouldn’t have recognized each other, even though we contributed to such an amazing event in history with these people.”

Marzilli is no longer assigned to the Maui Coast Station. He is now assigned to Harriet Lane, the Coast Guard’s new “Indo-Pacific Support Cutter” in Honolulu, dedicated to operations in Oceania. This summer, he deployed with Lane on an extended patrol around the region, working with authorities in island nations to combat illegal fishing.

He said he enjoys learning about the cultures on the islands, but added that “Maui has a special place in my heart. I’ve come to really love that island and it’s a place I see as home.”

Meanwhile, Lovitt and Nelson prepare for whale watching season with their company, Maui Ocean Adventures, which is run entirely by fire survivors.

Lovitt said getting back on the water was “healing.”

“I didn’t want to at first, after going through it,” she said, “and then somebody kind of forced me out on a boat.”

For now, Lovitt said, “We’re excited to get back to work and do what we love.”