Wildwood Leader, 1975

WILDWOOD - Off-duty lifeguards here pulled two Canadian men from the surf here late Tuesday, according to Beach Patrol Captain John Capaccio.

The men, identified as Denis Filion of Montreal and Patrick Boucher of Quebec, were seen floundering in the water off Cedar Avenue by two unidentified men.

Capaccio said his guards, who generally go off-duty at 5:30 p.m., had stayed a bit longer than usual at the Lincoln Avenue beach tent.

“We are extremely lucky they were around. If they weren’t those men would be dead today,” Capaccio said.

The captain said he took a beach jeep and his two best swimming guards to the scene, while 30 other lifeguards ran to the water.

The guards began swimming with life rings towards the stricken bathers while other guards launched a life boat.

“The first men who got out to the victims kept them afloat until the boat got to where they were. Then they put the two victims in the boat and brought them ashore,” Captain Capaccio said.

“Those guards did a hell of a job,” the captain continued. They normally aren’t around at that time of day.

Filion and Boucher did not require medical treatment, although Capaccio said they were “shaken up” after being brought ashore.

“This should serve as a lesson to a lot of people. After the guards go off-duty, people should stay out of the water,” Capaccio said.

He also commented that the spot where Filion and Boucher went bathing “is one of the worst spots...It’s a real wash with a severe undertow.”