By Heather Graves
Correspondent
GREEN BAY – A Green Bay city employee’s vacation turned into a rescue mission when he swam through dangerous riptide conditions to save a young man from drowning without any concern for himself.
“I think I nearly gave my wife a heart attack during the incident,” electrical foreperson Jerry Bruley said. “To be honest, I don’t really remember a whole lot about it. There was a lot of adrenaline going on when it happened. I’ve had multiple run-ins with rip tides in the past, and I felt confident about what I could do.”
While on vacation in Gulf Shores, Alabama, with his family, Bruley and a group of other bystanders noticed a man in the water struggling to make it back to shore on May 18.
“I thought I heard a faint, ‘Help,’” he said. “I did not see an immediate need for help, but continued to look around when I heard another call out from what I knew this time was coming from the water.”
Onlookers rushed to get help, as Bruley continued to monitor the man from the beach.
“I witnessed the lifeguard come from her station and enter the water in an attempt to save the man,” he said. “After seeing how the current and waves were affecting her ability to get further into the water, I decided that I needed to take action.”
Bruley said instinct took over and he doesn’t remember consciously thinking about going out, he just did what needed to be done.
“I ran back to our chairs where my wife and daughter had been sitting and began to remove my watch, hat and sunglasses,” he said.
“Unknown to me, both my wife and daughter were talking to me at this point asking me what I was doing. I proceeded to enter the water diving into the first wave, which I remember very clearly.”
After that, Bruley said his memories are foggy.
“I remember nothing about the swim out to the man,” he said. “When I reached him, I saw just how exhausted he really was. I put my arms under his armpits and began my tow back to shore. At one point in time, I do remember lifting the swimmer up to try and keep his head above the waves as they reached us, which caused me to go underwater. I do not remember anything else about the swim back.”
By the time additional help arrived, Bruley had fought through the dangerous riptide conditions and brought the man approximately 100 yards back to shore.
He said there wasn’t much interaction between him and the swimmer following the incident because he wanted to give him space, but said it was then he finally processed what just happened.
“Shortly after getting onto the beach and sitting the man down, I was taken back by just how exhausted he was and what exactly just happened,” he said. “The man told me I had saved his life and it immediately made me emotional. I responded telling him I only did what I hoped another would do for me if the need ever arose. We shook hands and shared a moment that I will never forget. A full-felt and meaningful thank you.”
Bruley said he didn’t get the man’s name but did learn he was from Mobile, Alabama.
“While the gentleman was speaking to medics, he told me he was inside of his home while it was torn apart by a Category 5 hurricane, and he was more scared in the last seconds prior to me reaching him than he was while in the hurricane,” he said.
Bruley said he received numerous handshakes, high fives and comments about how heroic his actions were, “all of which I took with a grain of salt at the time as I was a bit emotional myself until I got off the beach that day. I will never forget the look in his eyes when we shook hands and he told me ‘Thank you, you saved my life.’”
Bruley said the day they were on the beach a red flag flew from the lifeguard stations, something he didn’t understand until later.
“Unknown to us at the time (a red flag) meant danger was near,” he said. “After the events unfolded that day, we had a chance to speak with others about the water conditions. Red flags are the most serious, warning swimmers of high surf and strong currents. A red flag should not be taken lightly and swimmers should use extreme caution. Two red flags close the beach to the public and swimming is prohibited.”
Bruley was recognized by the city council for his heroic efforts at the June 29 meeting, something he never expected.
“I was taken back when Director of Public Works Steven Grenier said the City of Green Bay wanted to recognize me for a heroic acknowledgment,” he said.
Grenier said Bruley’s actions didn’t come as a surprise.
“For those of us that work with Jerry on a regular basis, this isn’t something that is out of character,” Grenier said. “This is the kind of selfless act that we see from Jerry on a daily basis. Jerry has been with us for six years today and he is one of the model employees. This is the kind of people that we want to have, not only in DPW but also representing the city.”