Hero honored for saving 12 lives | News

ATLANTA -- "It's definitely humbling," said Coast Guard Aviation Survival Technition Tom McArthur.

McArthur is being honored not for his work in the coast guard, but for what he's done off-duty.

It was on a run last year that he noticed people struggling on the beach.

"There were 2-3 foot waves, crashing in very hard," he said. "The rip-tide was pretty strong that day."

Immediately, instinct took over.

"There were two kids in the water, they got pulled out by the riptide, and I saw them and grabbed the line and threw it to them," said McArthur. "That was pretty much the start of about an hour of pulling about 12 people out of the water with definite help from a few civilians."

Now, the Coast Guard has awarded him one of their highest honors, the Silver Lifesaving Metal.

The face might look a bit familiar- that's because this isn't the first time you've met Tom.

Four years ago, Donna Lowry profiled him for his work as a Civilian Air Patroller.

He was also the recipient for the 11Alive Kids Who Care scholarship.

"I'd done search and rescue for plane crashes and stuff like that. I'd spent a lot of time volunteering through that organization, and really enjoyed it," he added. "I really found my true passion through Civil Air Patrol."

Little did he know, the same skills he learned in high school- would save lives years later.