On Wednesday, January 27, 2010, I had the privilege of meeting with a man named Doug Banker at his Garrison home overlooking the Hudson River. At around 10 a.m., I pulled up at his driveway and he greeted me with a warm smile. I introduced myself and then we got down to talking about the night of November 23, 2009.
That night, Mr. Banker, his daughter Jeannie and her husband John were getting off at the Garrison train station from the city at around 9:33 p.m. As they were crossing the overpass that leads to the river side of the train tracks, they heard a faint "help" in the distance. Walking toward the sound, they eventually found a drowning man off the Garrison Yacht Club pier. The man was wearing a heavy leather jacket and was flailing his arms. Doug and his son-in-law tried to help the man by giving him a tree branch to grab on to, but he was too delirious to understand what to do. While this was going on, Jeannie called 911.
During the 20 to 25 minutes before the Garrison Volunteer Fire Company arrived, Mr. Banker was lying face down on the dock holding the man's hand. He and John delivered words of reassurance to the man. When the fire department got there, they used a ladder to fish the man out. In the end, after being treated by the Garrison Volunteer Ambulance Corps, the man was eventually sent to Hudson Vally Hospital Center. After the whole ordeal was over, Doug found a cross and a pair of gloves on the dock.
Mr. Banker ended up with a couple of badly bruised ribs from holding the heavy man for so long. I was struck by how humble Mr. Banker was when he recalled the evening. He said it all seemed to happen so quickly. It's pretty amazing that he not only heard the sound of the man's cry but also actually took the extra step to check it out.
On Thursday, February 4, 2010, the Garrison Volunteer Fire Company presented Mr. Banker with a Lifesaver award for his actions that night.
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