Biddeford Pool, Maine

The USCG awarded Mr. Alley the Public Service Commendation posthumously 3 years after his death.

"Mr. Alley’s determined efforts and outstanding initiative during this rescue contributed to saving the life of Tammy Burnham. His unselfish actions and valiant service reflect great credit upon himself and are in keeping with the highest traditions of humanitarian service."  

                                               United States Coast Guard

Public Service Commendation to Preston Alley

On the afternoon of 29 November 1960 Mr. Preston Alley assisted in the rescue of two-year-old Tammy Burnham from the waters of Biddeford Pool, Maine, amid dense fog, heavy rain, and dangerous swells. Tammy Burnham had spent 75 minutes in the frigid waters of Biddeford Pool, having been kept alive by the actions of Seaman Apprentice Edward Syvinski after the boat she had been riding in capsized. Her father, the light keeper at Wood Island Light, had then rescued Tammy and Seaman Apprentice Syvinski from the rocky shore of Negro Island and taken them by boat to a 30-foot Coast Guard lifeboat waiting in Wood Island Harbor. The weather conditions hampered the lifeboat crew’s progress into the gut of Fletcher’s Neck, while Tammy’s condition slowly worsened. Mr. Alley was among a group of local citizens who gathered on the mainland after hearing of the accident. Once realizing that the lifeboat crew was having problems navigating the gut, Mr. Alley did not hesitate to get underway in his lobster boat to render assistance. In spite of the dense fog and dangerous swells, which worsened as he proceeded to the outer harbor, he expertly navigated the gut and located the lifeboat in the vicinity of Philip Rock. Tammy Burnham, suffering from severe hypothermia and lapsing in and out of consciousness, was transferred to the lobster boat. Mr. Alley then raced back into the gut and brought her to shore, where her grandparents brought her to the hospital where she later recovered. Mr. Alley’s determined efforts and outstanding initiative during this rescue contributed to saving the life of Tammy Burnham. His unselfish actions and valiant service reflect great credit upon himself and are in keeping with the highest traditions of humanitarian service.

My grandfather did not want any recognition for what he did on November 29, 1960, when he went out on his lobster boat to get Tammy. For all his outspokenness, the one thing he did not like was being in the spotlight. It was difficult for him on the one hand being a former Coast Guardsman, and on the other hand, having witnessed a poor job done that night. He was embarrassed for the Coast Guard, feeling that although the chief was fairly new to the station—he had only been there a month or so—he should have familiarized himself with the harbor and its surroundings, and it appalled him that life jackets were not available that evening. But it never mattered to him what the newspaper wrote or what the Associated Press reported. For my grandfather, what mattered was that Tammy was brought ashore safely—period. To him, he did what anyone else with the means would have done.

pg. 85 of: 
Wood Island Lighthouse The Rescue of Tammy Burnham 
Copyright © 2007 Margo Alley