OAN Staff Alex Cammarata and Sophia Flores
8:37 PM – Tuesday, February 24, 2026
President Donald Trump has highlighted the hero credited with saving more than 160 Texas campers’ lives.
During his State of the Union (SOTU) address on Tuesday, President Donald Trump honored U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan, who helped rescue 165 campers during catastrophic July 2025 flooding in Kerr County, Texas’ Hill Country.
Trump recounted the moment 11-year-old Milly Cate McClymond believed she was about to be swept away by floodwaters.
“You all remember that one as the waters threatened to sweep her away…11-year-old Milly Cate McClymond closed her eyes and prayed to God – she thought she was going to die,” Trump said. “Those prayers were answered when Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan descended from a helicopter above. Nobody knew where he came from.”
Trump said it was Ruskan’s first rescue mission, describing him as brave.
“It was Scott’s first ever rescue mission,” the president told the crowd. “He lifted not just Milly Cate, but 164 others to safety. People watched Scott from a distance and they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.”
Ruskan and McClymond were both in attendance as Trump awarded Ruskan the Legion of Merit for “exceptionally meritorious conduct.” The chamber gave Ruskan an extended standing ovation.
The flooding at Camp Mystic took the lives of 27 campers and counselors, including the camp’s director.
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