FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — A serene family stroll along the beach unexpectedly transformed into a life-and-death struggle, leaving indelible marks on all involved.

With news of his receipt of one of North America’s top civilian accolades for his bravery, Lance Jones reflects on the intense rescue operation and the enduring impact of the man who aided him in this courageous act.

Back in April, Army veteran Joshua Curtis was enjoying a day at Fernandina Beach with his 6-year-old son, Owen, and his 9-year-old niece, Raylynn, when a fierce rip current swept the children away from the shoreline. Curtis immediately sprang into action, striving to keep them afloat as they were carried further out to sea.

Meanwhile, on that same evening, local resident Lance Jones was taking a leisurely walk with his wife and their 11-year-old daughter when an alarmed stranger approached, urgently notifying him that children were in peril out in the water.

“She said the kids are in the water, I think they need help, and I look out and I see a girl about 100 yards offshore that’s flailing,” Jones recalled in an interview with First Coast News.

Jones tossed his keys and phone to his wife and ran straight into the ocean. When he reached Raylynn, she grabbed onto him so tightly that they both went under.

“I thought, uh oh, I gotta get her to calm down,” he said. “I said, what’s your name? She said, Raylynn. I said, Raylynn, I need you to help me… just kick and we’ll swim in. I’ve got you.”

He managed to get the 9-year-old close to shore, where bystanders stepped in to help. But before he could catch his breath, Raylynn began yelling about her cousin still in the water.

“She’s like, my cousin, my cousin, and was pointing back out into the water,” Jones said. “As I looked out, he was probably 200 yards offshore.”

Jones turned around and swam back out, this time toward Owen and Curtis.

“As I got closer, I realized that the gentleman, Joshua, was already kind of face down in the water,” Jones said. “I got up to Owen, he jumps off of his dad and grabs around my neck, and I go under again, but he didn’t let go.”

With a strong rip current pulling at them, Jones tried to keep both boy and father afloat.

“I thought that’s exactly what Josh did for those two kids as long as he could, just keep them afloat because the rip current was strong,” Jones said.

Jones began a desperate push back toward shore, one arm on Owen and the other on Curtis.

“I feel like it was a pure God moment,” he said. “I’m like, get us in. I don’t know what else to pray to, just get us in.”

Owen and Raylynn survived. Curtis did not.

“God had us there at that time for a reason,” Jones said. “It’s still heartbreaking that it wasn’t in time for Josh.”

This month, Jones and the late Joshua Curtis were named recipients of the Carnegie Medal, considered the highest honor for civilian heroism in the United States. The award recognizes people who risk their lives to save others.

Jones said the recognition is “bittersweet” and that he struggles with being called a hero.

“It’s hard to wrap around feeling that label as a hero,” he said. “But I know reverse, if it was a similar situation and someone went out and did that for my daughter or my son, I would probably put that same title. So yeah, bittersweet, but super humbling.”

Curtis was an Army veteran who had already earned the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his bravery in combat. Friends and family describe him as a devoted father who lived a life of service long before his final act in the ocean.

For Jones, what happened in the waves that night is a permanent reminder of how fragile life can be.

“Life is, I mean, it’s precious and everything can change so instantly,” he said.