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Over the Labor Day weekend, Stephen Houser was enjoying a day in the surf with his family in Belmar, New Jersey, when he spotted a swimmer nearby having trouble. The 35-year-old Marine veteran saw fellow Belmar resident Gabe McCabe struggling against a serious riptide in the Atlantic.
The ex-Marine rushed to McCabe’s rescue, offering him his boogie board and then towing the relieved swimmer back to shore. Safely back on the beach, McCabe recounted the harrowing experience. “I’ve never experienced anything like this,” he says, “It just sucked, zapped the energy right out of you.”
This wasn’t the first time that Houser had dealt with the dangerous riptides and he’s glad he was there. “I was just in the right place at the right time,” he says, “I’m just happy to have helped him, and I think anybody in my situation would have done the same thing.” The next day, the two men met up, so McCabe could properly thank his rescuer. "Steve definitely was the man at the moment yesterday for me," McCabe says, "I'm not sure if I would be here today, but thankfully I am."