LBI mail carrier receives National Hero of the Year Award

When Manahawkin resident Tom Logue, a 28-year mail carrier on Long Beach Island, received the National Association of Letter Carriers’ National Hero of the Year Award in Washington, D.C. last month, he said he’d had no idea he would receive as much attention as he did. He was recognized for his rescue last summer of an 8-year-old boy who was caught in a rip current off the beach at East 33rd Street in Beach Haven. He attributed his recognition to The SandPaper’s 2011 coverage of the event.

Photo by Jack Reynolds

“The SandPaper was the one that started the whole thing,” said Logue. “That article, how it made it to D.C. with the rest of the nominations in the United States for the award, I don’t know. But that’s what started it for me. So I owe The SandPaper a lot.”

Logue was enjoying a relaxing day at the beach with his family on Father’s Day last year when he said he noticed the young boy struggling in the water. He had been keeping a watchful eye on the child after noticing he was swimming near the undertow.

“The water was really rough, and sure enough, a big wave hit the kid and he was driven out farther into the ocean. It was like he had a rope tied around him,” Logue remembered. “He tried to say, ‘Help,’ but all he got out was the first letter. That was it. Then he went under.”

Logue immediately rushed into the water to save the boy before anyone else, including the lifeguards, was able to realize what was happening. After battling the ocean’s strong currents while remaining calm for the boy’s sake, he reached the shore, where he was greeted by an awe-stricken crowd and the boy’s thankful father.

Later that week, The SandPaper’s report on Logue’s heroism was spotted hanging on the walls in restaurants and shops across the Island. Wherever he went, he said, he was stopped by people who wanted to thank him for his courageous endeavor. He said he even had to call for backup on his mail route because he was constantly being pulled over by locals and tourists who wanted to congratulate him.

“It was the greatest week I ever had,” Logue declared. “I got a stack of letters from people in the mail, and this is no lie, I probably shook 500 hands, took 30 pictures (and) wrote a bunch of autographs because of The SandPaper’s picture and article. I didn’t buy lunch for two weeks. I even got standing ovations,” he said.

A year later, Logue received a call from the NALC saying he had won the National Hero of the Year Award for the rescue. He was invited to the awards ceremony in September, alongside several other postal award recipients. Although thankful, he said he had hoped they could just send the award to him via mail. He said he didn’t realize how much of an honor the award actually was until he researched it online and watched a video of the awards ceremony from the previous year.

“They told me I was the first guy from New Jersey to receive the award,” Logue recalled. “Everyone wanted to shake my hand. It was like a fantasy; I still can’t believe it.”

Photo by Jack Reynolds

Logue and his family made the trip to Capitol Hill in D.C. last month, where they enjoyed a three-day, all-expenses-paid excursion around the nation’s capital, their first visit. They saw all the district’s major attractions, including the U.S. Capitol, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and the Lincoln Memorial. Congressman Jon Runyan (R-NJ) sat with the family during the awards ceremony before praising Logue’s actions at the microphone.

“The trip was wonderful,” remarked Logue’s wife, Maria. “It made me see the postal union in a new light. You just see it as something taken out of the paycheck. But now that we’ve gone through this, we’re happy to give it to them now. They really do a lot,” she added.

While in D.C., Logue said he was interviewed by countless media, including USA Today,The Philadelphia Inquirer and TIME Magazine. He was even featured on ABC World News as “Person of the Week.”

“I gave all the credit to The SandPaper,” Logue said. “If they didn’t put that article in the paper that day, I would never have been to D.C., and I never would have gotten all this attention.”

Logue’s fame has since calmed down. Although it was fun for a while, he said he’s happy just working and being a father. Besides, he said, he’s still recognized at the local Wawa.

This article was published in The SandPaper.