Sunday, a young man in his early teens and visiting Maui with his family, was swimming approximately 50 yards off of Keawakapu when he became distressed and began to falter.

His hesitation led to panic, and he shouted for help before he began to become submerged in the water.

Thankfully, a local swimmer, who had been swimming laps up and down the beach, hurried to his aid, and using water-rescue skills, managed to bring the boy to shore without harm or injury.

Both were spent; the boy from the panic and the swimmer from the rescue. The young man’s family, which consisted of a father, mother, and younger sister, was scared, panicked, and entirely grateful for the local swimmer for saving their son.

The swimmer received their thanks graciously, without concern or recognition or reward, then moved on to the rest of his day.

I, too, was grateful for the anonymous man who had stepped up and answered that call of distress and took it upon himself to accept the great responsibility. I think that he was the realization of the best virtues of Maui’s community.

I will never know who this hero is, but I was glad to have been able to have witnessed his heroism alongside my son and to say to him: “That, son, is genuine selflessness and humility, and we need to always be grateful for this community.”

To the hero: You lifted up one young person out of the water, but you also lifted up my family’s souls too.

Carson Strohecker
Makawao