Heroes Honored For Brave Rescue at Hampton Beach [VIDEO]

This lifeguard duo was well-prepared to save lives when they went to Hampton Beach in April, even though it was their day off.

Andrew Myers and Molly Mendola, both of Milford, were awarded at the Red Cross Heroes Breakfast on Thursday — an event that also included a Hero award for slain Chief Michael Maloney — for saving a group of swimmers who were caught in a dangerous current.

The Milford High alumni had joined their friends on a trip to Hampton Beach during a “senior skip day,” when they heard screaming coming from the water. No life guards were on duty at the time, and the two Hampshire Hills-trained lifeguards didn’t hesitate to jump into the freezing water to help.

Molly tended to a woman about 20 feet from shore, while Andrew swam out farther to save a man who was losing his consciousness. The rip tide was especially strong that day, but the young heroes were able to bring everyone back to shore.

“I brought him up to shore. He was freezing, he was exhausted, he was coughing up water,” said Myers in a video presented by the Red Cross.

Luckily, they had both had received Red Cross Lifeguard certification and knew how to handle the situation.

“I was pretty confident in myself that I could do what I was trained to do,” said Mendola in the video.

Unitil vice president of communications Carol Valianti proudly presented their awards at the event.

“The idea of somebody knowingly walking into, and running into a rip tide to save someone’s life is remarkable,” she said.

The two lifesavers are very modest about receiving the recognition, and said they were just happy to be there to help.

“It is an honor,” said Mendola after receiving her award.

“It is kind of surreal,” added Myers. “I never thought people would be talking about it or getting awards for it. I just wanted to help people.”

See the other local heroes that were honored this year on Red Cross' website.