Stephan "Jessie" Poplin, Machinery Technician Third Class, of the United States Coast Guard, a resident of Boonville was awarded the Coast Guard's Achievement Medal for his part in saving the lives of nine people who were involved in a boating accident July 5, on Virginia's Chesapeake Bay.

“It was definitely the worst boating accident I’ve seen in my 17 years with the U.S. Coast Guard,” said one USCG official familiar with what happened.

"At 9:50 p.m., I received a call from the Middlesex County Sheriff's department with a report of an accident on the Chesapeake Bay involving ten people," Poplin said. "After contacting the driver of the boat, I was able to determine the position of the accident.

"I immediately activated our SAR (Search and Rescue), alarm and the Coast Guard members on duty reported to the watch room, the 911 center for the Coast Guard. I then dispatched our 41 foot vessel with a full crew," he said. "I then called our auxiliary team who were on the way in to go off duty, and asked them to go back out. The accident was reported to be of a degree that our commanding officer came in and I asked for additional crews and he agreed.

"A call was made to the Coast Guard in Elizabeth City, N.C. for an immediate helicopter as well as one to the Virginia State Troopers for their helicopter. At one time, between the Coast Guard, police and medical helicopters, there were five copters in the air evacuating the injured people on the boat and looking for the one female passenger that was missing."

From the time the call came in to Poplin in the watch center until the time the accident was reached by the SAR team of the Coast Guard, it had been one hour. Some of the passengers were removed by the Coast Guard helicopters, transferred inland to a ‘medivac’ helicopter and then flown for medical treatment.

"There was one 11-year-old boy who was in a coma on the boat," Poplin said. "He was one of the first ones transferred. After spending several weeks in the hospital, he was released. I was told that he has had no adverse medical problems from the accident."

After several hours of searching, at approximately 2:30 a.m., a thermal imaging device located the body of the missing female passenger.

Poplin had come on duty around 4 p.m. the day of the accident. A normal shift is four hours. Poplin remained on duty for 12 hours until the mission was complete and all the passengers of the boat were rescued or recovered. For his effort, he was awarded the achievement medal.

"In recognition of his performance, Machinery Technician Third Class Stephen J. Poplin was awarded the Coast Guard Achievement Medal at a ceremony at Coast Guard Station Milford Haven. The medal was awarded for “quickly taking charge and initiating Coast Guard Station Milford Haven’s Search and Rescue (SAR) response. After dispatching a Coast Guard rescue boat, Petty Officer Poplin effectively managed to establish contact with the operator of the vessel. Through his diligence and tactful communications with the disoriented mariner, Petty Officer Poplin was able to accurately determine the location of the distressed vessel. He also discovered there was an 11-year-old child, unconscious and unresponsive onboard the vessel. Displaying expert judgment and decision-making, Petty Officer Poplin quickly notified and dispatched a second crew on a 25-foot rescue boat and a Coast Guard Auxiliary boat. After passing all pertinent information to the responding units, Petty Officer Poplin began meticulously coordinating communications with Sector Hampton Roads, the three responding SAR crews and a myriad of responding state and local agencies. Petty Officer Poplin reminded at his post as Communications Watch Stander for nearly twelve hours during the execution of the case, ensuring all vital and urgent information was passed correctly and efficiently. His outstanding performance directly resulted in the rescue of nine severely injured personnel from one of the worst boating accidents in the State of Virginia.”

“I am proud to have Petty Officer Stephen Poplin as a member of Station Milford Haven’s Team,” said Senior Chief Matthew Welsh, Officer In Charge of the Coast Guard Station. “His diligence, perseverance and devotion to duty are most heartily commended and are in keeping with the highest tradition of the United States Coast Guard.”

"I was doing my duty," Poplin said. "I stayed on duty doing what I had been trained to do. I'm glad that we were able to rescue the nine passengers."

Poplin grew up in Boonville and graduated from Starmount High School. He was a volunteer fireman with the Boonville and Yadkinville fire departments. He also worked with the Yadkin County Rescue Squad.

"I've always wanted to be in law enforcement," Poplin said. "I knew that being in the Coast Guard would give me not only the opportunity, but the experience. I spent two years in Miami working on the migrant operations and the drug trafficking. The helicopters would fly in, drop the drugs, and speedboats would be waiting to retrieve them. We would chase down the speedboats, confiscate the drugs and arrest the drug runners.

"After Miami, I went to school in Yorktown to be a diesel mechanic," Poplin said. "Not only am I a federal law officer, but a diesel mechanic who can work on the boats when they break."

Poplin will be sworn in on Saturday, Aug. 21, for an additional four-year assignment with the Coast Guard in Matthews, Va., where he is stationed now. His advice to anyone considering joining the armed forces is to consider the guard.

"We have the second hardest boot camp, just under the Marines, but we do all the work and even more of the members of the Navy," Poplin said. "It's a guaranteed job, but just like a regular job, it has it's pros and cons.

"I don't get to visit home as much as I might like, but the places I get to travel to and working on the over 3,000 miles of coast line that include the Chesapeake Bay, and the Potomac and York Rivers is really nice.

"Some of the area we cover from our station can't be reached except by trailering in the boats," he said.

Poplin plans to remain in the Coast Guard for 20 years until retirement. He plans to return to the area and join the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.