Pablo Valent (January 15, 1892 – September 5, 1969) was an American Coast Guardsman best known for his part in the rescue of the crew of the ''Cape Horn'' in 1919. Originally from

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi ( ; ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, Texas, Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas County, T ...

, Valent joined the

United States Life-Saving Service The United States Life-Saving ServiceDespite the lack of hyphen in its insignia, the agency itself is hyphenated in government documents including: and was a United States government agency that grew out of private and local humanitarian eff ...

in 1912 and spent the bulk of his service at the Coast Guard station in Brazos, Texas. During the hurricane which made landfall outside Corpus Christi in September 1919, Valent was part of a Coast Guard crew credited with the rescue of the endangered schooner ''Cape Horn''. According to the official account of events, watchstanders at Coast Guard Station 222 spotted the ''Cape Horn'' in distress, whereupon the station's 36-foot Type E oar-powered surfboat was launched – Valent among its crew – into the hurricane force swells. The surfboat reached the vessel two hours later, just as the ''Cape Horn'' began to sink, and safely rescued all aboard. For his efforts, Valent was decorated with the

Silver Lifesaving Medal The Gold Lifesaving Medal and Silver Lifesaving Medal are Awards and decorations of the United States government, U.S. decorations issued by the United States Coast Guard. The awards were established by Act of Congress, 20 June 1874; later aut ...

and also received the Grand Cross from the American Cross of Honor. In 1935, Valent took command of the Coast Guard station in

Port Isabel, Texas Port Isabel is a city in Cameron County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville combined statistical area, Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville and the Matamoros–Brownsville Metropolitan Area, Matamoros ...

. In 1938 when President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

made an unannounced stop at Port Isabel aboard his yacht ''Potomac'', Valent and two of his men patrolled the surrounding waters during the night in a 36-foot lifeboat while two U.S. Navy destroyers stood watch further offshore. Valent retired in 1940 and went into business with his brother. In 1944, he was appointed to the

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Cameron County, Texas, Cameron County, located on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border, border with Matamoros, Tamaulipas ...

housing authority board. Valent Hall, a facility at Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi, is named after Valent. USCGC ''Pablo Valent'' was also named in his honor.

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valent, Pablo 1892 births 1969 deaths People from Corpus Christi, Texas United States Life-Saving Service personnel United States Coast Guard non-commissioned officers People from Brownsville, Texas