Chicamacomico lifesaving station has a storied history, as does the entire oceanic lifesaving occupation on the Outer Banks. Chicamacomico was part of the United States Life-Saving Service (1871-1915) which would eventually become today’s U.S. Coast Guard, and was the first such station built in NC dating back to 1874. The men of the United States Life-Saving Service were the original rescue heroes, the “storm warriors” who made dramatic and heroic rescues of shipwreck victims whose lives were in peril from the sea.
A TV news station recently highlighted one of the brave rescues made 91 years ago at Chicamacomico. This clip recalls a particular instance in WWI when the rescuers saved a group of British naval men in the heat of battle.
