Delaware man who died saving his stepson from drowning awarded with Lifesaving Medal

Reed Shelton | The Daily Times

Show Caption Hide Caption Watch: Coast Guard rescues loggerhead turtle off Lewes coast The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Lawrence Lawson, along with members of the Marine Education, Research & Rehabilitation Institute and members of Sea Turtle Recovery rescue a loggerhead turtle approximately 3-miles east of Cape Henlopen near Lewes.

A tearful congregation joined Delaware state and Coast Guard officials Saturday morning to posthumously award a man with the Silver Lifesaving Medal.

The family of Michael Manley, of Milltown, Delaware, was presented the medal and a Certificate of Valor by Delaware Gov. John Carney Jr. and Rear Adm. Meredith Austin, Fifth Coast Guard district commander.

Manley drowned nearly two years ago saving his then-17-year-old stepson, Andrew Short, off the coast of Sandbridge, Virginia, after being caught in a rip current.

Indian River Coast Guard Chief James Pond said Manley’s sacrifice on Sept. 27, 2015, was an inspiration to all Coast Guardsmen.

“Every day, men and women of this station train to assist anyone in danger out at sea. What your father did is an inspiration to me and my crew,” Pond said, fighting tears as he addressed Manley’s son, Michael Manley Jr., 5, and stepson Andrew Short, now 19.

“Your father could certainly have served alongside us any day,” Pond said.

The Lifesaving Medal is one of the oldest medals in the U.S., and can be awarded to both civilians and members of the military. It is awarded to those who “performed a rescue or attempted rescue at the risk of his or her own life” and who demonstrated “such extraordinary effort as to merit recognition,” according to the Medals and Awards Manual of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Only 1,900 or so Silver Lifesaving Medals have been awarded since an Act of Congress established the award in 1874.

Manley, who was a civilian, was also honored with the Carnegie Medal for heroism in February.

Amy Jo Fosdick, Manley’s girlfriend of 10 years and mother to Short, called Manley “one hell of a guy,” and “my hero.”

READ MORE: Dad posthumously receives Carnegie Medal for heroism

READ MORE: Delaware man dies saving son’s life

She said Manley, at 6 feet 3 inches tall, 230 pounds and bedecked in tattoos, had an appearance that belied his inner kindheartedness.

She described Manley as a “gentle giant” with a golden heart, who would help anyone with anything whether or not they’d asked for it; who gave money to the homeless, helped strangers and opened the door for anyone, anywhere.

It eventually came to her why he did so much for others:

“It wasn’t because it was the easy thing to do,” she said. “It was because it was the right thing to do. He never wanted anything in return for anything he did, and he’d also be very embarrassed that we were making a big deal out of it today.

“He’d have said, ‘Anyone would have done what I did.’”

What Manley did was recounted by Andrew Short, who said he owes his life and his future to Manley.

“The best way I can explain it is like a movie moment,” he said. “Everything’s going great — you’re playing on the beach, and it suddenly goes downhill.”

The skies were clear and the water looked beautiful and calm, he said.

“Like a villain in disguise,” Short said.

Like any 17-year-old at the beach would have done, he dove in and swam out. A few short moments later, he said, he realized something was wrong.

“I turned my head and saw that I was about a football field away from the shore. I got a knot in my stomach like something wasn’t right,” he said.

Short tried to turn back, swimming straight to shore against the current, and quickly realized he was in trouble.

“I’m not a scrawny guy,” Short said, a muscular young man and a soccer player who isn’t “a poor swimmer at all.”

“I started getting tired, extremely tired, and felt like I couldn’t keep swimming,” he said. “I waved my arms, trying to get someone’s attention, and then I saw Michael take his shirt off and dive right into the water.”

Manley was right beside him in an instant, he said, telling him to calm down, to relax, to not swim against the current. The words soothed him, Short said, giving him “that extra punch to keep going,” and he made his way to the shore.

“It felt like it took me 15 minutes, but it was probably only a couple of minutes,” he said. “I’ve never been so exhausted in my life.

“It was that close, it was just so close,” he said.

Short finally lifted his head off the sandy shore to tell Manley that he was safe. He said he saw Manley trying to swim back in but, eventually, he vanished.

Manley was pulled out to sea by the same current that nearly killed his stepson. A search was performed by local rescue teams — 911 had been called as soon as Amy Fosdick realized what was happening — but Manley wasn’t found until his body later washed up to shore.

READ MORE: How to survive rip currents at the beach

Delaware Gov. John Carney Jr. spoke about Manley’s 2015 sacrifice.

“On that day, Michael charged into the surf, disregarding his own safety,” he said. “So we gather with sadness, but with gratitude and with pride of what he did.”

Addressing Short and Michael Manley Jr., the governor said they will be here to remind the world of what Manley did.

“We are eternally grateful for his service that day,” he said.

Andrew Short said he’s still trying to answer the question of how to spend his life. He’s strongly considering becoming a motivational speaker, helping young people who went through similar experiences come to grips with their struggles and carry on.

“I feel like if I could talk to people who have been through things like I have, I could show them that it’s not the end of the world,” he said. “I could show them that I lived through it and so can they.

“I want to give them a reason to keep going, you know?”