The team deployed around 7 a.m. Friday from Corpus Christi, about 200 miles south of where the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, Texas, had risen from about 3 feet to nearly 30 feet. Floodwaters in the area had swept through and battered several youth camps on the river banks — including Camp Mystic, the summer camp where they were headed.

The White House is honoring U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Scott Ruskan for his extraordinary bravery after saving 165 lives during the catastrophic Texas floods, a rescue effort that was not only his first-ever mission but one carried out under some of the worst flying conditions his team had ever faced.

S cott Ruskan had never been on a rescue mission when he boarded a helicopter to find a crowd of about 200 campers stranded by deadly flooding on July 4, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.