Michael Cottrell, a Kadena Middle School librarian, rescued a teenager from rough waters in Sunabe, Okinawa, Aug. 27, 2026. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)
CHATAN, Okinawa — A middle school librarian at Kadena Air Base pulled a 19-year-old man from rough seas in central Okinawa last week after a wave swept the teenager into the water.
Michael Cottrell was walking his dog Thursday near a water purification plant in Chatan’s Minato district when he noticed two young men near the edge of the surging East China Sea, he told Stars and Stripes on Monday.
One stood on concrete steps leading toward the water and appeared to be searching for something that had washed away, Cottrell said. Then he realized the other was struggling in the surf.
Waves repeatedly pushed the teenager against concrete wave-break structures before Cottrell heard him scream for help.
“There was just nobody around,” Cottrell said. “I’m not expecting anybody else to go at this point because I’m the only person around.”
Cottrell said he picked up his dog, Perry, a 16-year-old Maltipoo, ran toward the water and handed the animal to a woman nearby.
The 59-year-old quickly ruled out jumping into the sea himself.
“If I end up in the water, I’m not going to make it out,” Cottrell said. “I’m almost 60 years old.”
Michael Cottrell, a Kadena Middle School librarian, pulled a 19-year-old man from rough waters in Sunabe, Okinawa, at this spot, as seen on Aug. 31, 2026. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)
Instead, he climbed over a barrier and made his way across the concrete structures toward the teenager, who was clinging to concrete but appeared too exhausted to pull himself from the water.
Cottrell moved as close as he safely could and told the teenager they would have to time the rescue between waves.
“He didn’t want to take his hand off of the pylon,” Cottrell said. “He was nervous about that.”
When the water receded, Cottrell stepped down, grabbed the teenager by the arm and pulled him from the sea.
“The other kid was frozen,” Cottrell said.
Two Japanese women who arrived during the rescue called an ambulance at Cottrell’s request.
The Chatan Fire Department received an emergency call at 3:31 p.m. reporting that a high wave had swept a 19-year-old man into the sea, a department spokesman said by phone Friday.
The teen suffered numerous cuts but did not require transportation to a hospital, the spokesman said. Some Japanese government officials are required to speak to media on condition of anonymity.
Cottrell’s friend Scott Davis, a librarian at Kadena Elementary School, found him on the seawall shortly afterward.
“The conditions were super rough,” Davis told Stars and Stripes by phone Friday. “Michael would give us the shirt off his back if we were in need, so he’s just that kind of guy.”
Cottrell, an Army veteran, has worked for Defense Department schools for 20 years, including nine at Kadena Middle.
He has coached youth sports for more than 30 years and has basic CPR training but has never worked as a lifeguard or received water-rescue training, he said.
“I don’t consider myself a hero of any type,” Cottrell said. “Anybody would have done what needed to be done, ‘cause there was a kid there that just needed a hand.”
His advice for others who encounter someone in danger is to help without putting themselves in unnecessary danger.
“You don’t have to wear a cape,” Cottrell said. “You just have to get involved. Don’t be afraid to get involved. Just be smart about it.”
Stars and Stripes reporter Janiqua Robinson contributed to this report.